Provenance
Unsold by the artist; (John Constable sale, Messrs. Foster, London, 15-16 May 1838, 2nd day, no. 13, with _Glebe Farm_); bought by William Hooker Carpenter; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 16 February 1867, no. 77); bought by Halsted. Sir John Kelk, Bt. [1816-1886], Tedworth, Wiltshire; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 11 March 1899, no. 6); bought by (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London); sold the same day to (Messrs. Lawrie & Co., London); purchased 11 November 1901 by (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); sold 26 January 1903 to (Arthur Tooth & Son, New York); purchased by William K. Bixby, St. Louis, Missouri;[1] sold 8 May 1918 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); purchased April 1918[2] by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh; deeded to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] Bixby lent the painting to a 1911 exhibition at the City Art Museum in St. Louis.
[2] The foregoing information was kindly supplied by M. Knoedler & Co., New York, from its stock books. The discrepancy between Bixby's sale of the picture to Knoedler's on 8 May 1918 and Mellon's purchase of it in April is presumably to be explained by Mellon's prior knowledge of the intended consignment.
Accession Number
1937.1.108
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 73 x 91 cm (28 3/4 x 35 13/16 in.) | framed: 97.1 x 115.6 x 10.7 cm (38 1/4 x 45 1/2 x 4 3/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting Canvas British
Background & Context
Background Story
This view of Salisbury Cathedral from the marsh meadows to the south is one of Constable's most contemplative treatments of the medieval masterpiece. The cathedral rises through a screen of trees and lush summer foliage, its spire piercing a dynamic sky that Constable painted with his characteristic attention to weather. He had first visited Salisbury in 1811 through his friendship with Bishop John Fisher and his nephew Archdeacon Fisher, and the cathedral became one of his most enduring subjects over the next two decades.
Cultural Impact
Constable painted numerous versions of Salisbury Cathedral, culminating in the great 1831 canvas for the Fisher family. This 1820 version captures a more intimate mood — the cathedral is glimpsed rather than displayed, almost hidden by the landscape that Constable clearly loved as much as the architecture. It demonstrates his belief that natural setting, not grandeur alone, gives a place its identity.
Why It Matters
This painting reveals Constable's core conviction: that a cathedral is inseparable from the landscape around it. His Salisbury paintings influenced the Barbizon School and later the Impressionists, who took from him the principle that atmosphere and mood matter more than architectural accuracy.
