The Dell at Helmingham Park
Framed: 57 1/2 x 62 x 4 3/4 inches (146.05 x 157.48 x 12.07 cm)
- 125
Royal Academy Exhibition of 1830, Royal Academy of Arts, London, opened April 7, 1830, no. 19, as Dell scene, in the park of the Right Hon. the Countess of Dysart, at Hatmingham, Suffolk.
Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, Manchester, England, 1857, no. 195, as The Rustic Bridge.
The International Exhibition, London, 1862, no. 255, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School; Including a Collection of Water-Colour Drawings by Joseph M.W. Turner (Winter Exhibition), Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1887, no. 151, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
A Loan Exhibition of Twelve Masterpieces of Painting, Knoedler and Company, New York, April 16-28, 1928, no. 2, as A Dell in Helmingham Park, Suffolk.
Masterpieces of Art: New York World's Fair, May-October 1940, no. 161, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
24 Masterpieces: Loan Exhibition to Commemorate the Hundredth Anniversary of the Knoedler Gallery and the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Benefit of the Women’s Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Knoedler and Company, New York, November 4-23, 1946, no. 21, as A Dell in Helmingham Park, Suffolk.
From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 22-December 8, 1968, no. 56, as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Constable's England, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, April 16-September 4, 1983, no. 62, as Helmingham Dell.
John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837), An Exhibition: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolors, Mezzotints, Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, New York, May 9-June 25, 1988, no. 28, as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
Constable, Tate Gallery, London, June 13-September 15, 1991, no. 172, as Helmingham Dell.
John Constable’s personal vision and immediate encounters with nature shaped his landscape paintings. This approach links him to a central tenant of Romanticism. While earlier British artists aspired to represent an idealized view of an imagined landscape, Constable strove to capture the local scenery of his native Suffolk, England.
Constable first visited Helmingham Park in 1800. He created an oil sketch of this scene during that visit but waited more than 20 years before executing it on this large-scale canvas. Constable employed loose brushwork, light and dark contrasts, and the heavy application of paint to suggest movement in the trees and light reflecting across the landscape.
With the artist, London, 1830-1837;
Purchased at his posthumous sale, Finished Works, Studies and Sketches of John Constable, Esq. R.A., Foster and Sons, London, May 16, 1838, lot 73, as View in Helmington Park, Suffolk, by John Allnutt (1773–1863), Clapham Common, England, 1838;
F. T. Rufford, by 1857;
Henry McConnel (1801-1871), Cressbrook, Derbyshire, by 1862-1871;
Probably to his wife, Isabella McConnel (d. 1885), Cressbrook, Derbyshire, 1871-1885;
Henry McConnel posthumous sale, Modern Pictures, Christie, Manson and Woods, London, March 27, 1886, lot 66, purchased by Arthur Silva White for John Mitchell Keiller (1851-1899), Dundee, Scotland, 1886-1899;
To his widow, Mary Sime Keiller (1862-1907), 1899-1907;
With Wallis and Son, London, by January 28, 1916;
Purchased from Wallis and Son by M. Knoedler and Co., New York, stock book 6, no. 13782/A5848, January 28, 1916-February 29, 1916;
Purchased from Knoedler by James J. Hill (1838-1916), New York, February 29, 1916-May 29, 1916;
Returned by Hill estate to M. Knoedler and Co., New York, by February 13, 1917 [1];
Purchased from Knoedler by William (1866-1936) and Katherine Deere Butterworth (1866-1953), Moline, IL, February 13, 1917-1953;
Purchased at Katherine Deere Butterworth’s posthumous sale, Important Paintings, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, October 20, 1954, lot 33, by M. Knoedler and Co., New York, stock book 10, no. A5848, 1954-March 17, 1955;
Purchased from Knoedler by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1955.
NOTES:
[1] Letter from James J. Hill’s butler to J. J. Toomey, Esq., May 20, 1917, NAMA curatorial files, states the painting had been returned to Knoedler.
Royal Academy Exhibition of 1830, exh. cat. (London: William Clowes, 1830), 6, as Dell scene, in the park of the Right Hon. the Countess of Dysart, at Hatmingham, Suffolk.
A Catalogue of the Valuable Finished Works Studies and Sketches of John Constable, Esq. R.A. (London: Foster and Sons, 1838), as View in Helmington Park, Suffolk.
Catalogue of the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, exh. cat. ([London]: [Bradbury and Evans], 1857), as The Rustic Bridge.
Francis Turner Palgrave, Handbook to the Fine Art Collections in the International Exhibition of 1862, exh. cat. (London: MacMillan, 1862).
“The Pictures at the Great Exhibition,” Dublin University Magazine 60, no. 357 (September 1862): 324, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
W. Bürger, Trésors d’art en Angleterre, 3rd ed. (Paris: Veuve Jules Renouard, 1865), 415, 418, as Le Pont rustique.
Catalogue of the Important Collection of Modern Pictures Formed by that Distinguished Connoisseur Henry McConnel, Esq. (London: Christie, Manson, and Woods, 1886), as Dell in Helmingham Park.
“The Art Sales of 1886,” The Art Journal (1886): 306, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
“Art in April,” The Magazine of Art (April 1886): 28, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School; Including a Collection of Water-Colour Drawings by Joseph M.W. Turner (Winter Exhibition), exh. cat. (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1887), 37, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
“The Winter Exhibition at Burlington House,” The Times (January 11, 1887): 8, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
George Redford, Art Sales: A History of Sales of Pictures and Other Works of Art, with Notices of the Collections Sold, Names of Owners, Titles of Pictures, Prices and Purchasers, Arranged under the Artists of the Different Schools in order of date, including the Purchases and Prices of Pictures for the National Gallery, vol. 1 (London: Bradbury, 1888), 428, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
George M. Brock-Arnold, Gainsborough; Constable (London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1896), 101, 104, as A Dell at Helmingham Park.
C.J. Holmes, Constable and his Influence on Landscape Painting (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1902), 233, 249, as View in Helmingham Park, Suffolk and A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and their work from its foundation in 1769 to 1904, vol. 1 (1905; repr. London: S.R., 1970), 124, as Dell scenes in the park of the Rt. Hon. the Countess of Dysart at Hatmingham, Suffolk.
Sturge Henderson, Constable (London: Duckworth, 1905), 219, as View in Helmington Park, Suffolk.
Frank Rutter, “Dignity and Pictures,” The Academy (April 25, 1908):713, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
C.J. Holmes, “Notes on Various Works of Art: A Dell in Helmingham Park. By John Constable,” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 14 (October 1908-March 1909): 107, (repro.), as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Algernon Graves, A Century of Loan Exhibitions: 1813-1912, vol. 1, A to G (New York: Burt Franklin, 1913), 194-95, as The Rustic Bridge and Dell in Helmingham Park.
“Mr. Hill’s Art Treasures,” American Art News 14, no. 35 (June 17, 1916): 1, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Algernon Graves, Art Sales from Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the Twentieth Century (Mostly Old Master and Early English Pictures), vol. 1, A to G (1918; repr. New York: Burt Franklin, 1970), 124, 126, as View in Helmingham Park and Dell in Helmingham Park.
A Loan Exhibition of Twelve Masterpieces of Painting, exh. cat. (New York: Knoedler Galleries, 1928), unpaginated, (repro.), as A Dell in Helmingham Park, Suffolk.
Art in England: 1821-1837 (New York: MacMillan, 1930), 194, as Dell Scene in the Park of the Right Hon. the Countess of Dysart, at Helmingham, Suffolk.
Walter Pach and Christopher Lazare, Catalogue of European and American Paintings, 1500-1900 (Masterpieces of Art: New York World’s Fair), exh. cat. (New York: Art Aid, 1940), 112, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
24 Masterpieces: Loan Exhibition to Commemorate the Hundredth Anniversary of the Knoedler Gallery and the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Benefit of the Women’s Committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exh. cat. (New York: Knoedler, 1946), unpaginated, as A Dell in Helmingham Park, Suffolk.
“Portrait by Hals Tops Auction List: 18th Century Furniture Also in Collection—Franklin’s Letters, Books Offered,” The New York Times 104, no. 35,330 (October 17, 1954): 119, as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Important Paintings Collected by the Late Katherine Deere Butterworth, Moline, Ill.—British XVIII Century Works (New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1954), 32-35, (repro.), as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
“Accessions of American and Canadian Museums, January-March, 1955,” The Art Quarterly 18, no. 3 (Autumn 1955): 302, 306, (repro.), as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Eleanor C. Munro, “Entering the public’s domain,” ART News 55, no. 3 (May 1956): 30, (repro.), as A Dell in Helmingham Park.
Helen Comstock, “Constable in America,” The Connoisseur 137, no. 554 (June 1956): 282, 284-85, (repro.), as Helmingham Park.
Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 128, 133, (repro.), as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
R.B. Beckett, “Constable’s “Helmingham Dell”,” The Art Quarterly 24, no. 1 (Spring 1961): 2, 5-6, 9, (repro.), as Dell Scene in Helmingham Dell.
Gerald Reitlinger, The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of the Picture Market, 1760-1960 (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1961), 107, as Dell in Helmingham Park.
R.B. Beckett, ed., John Constable’s Correspondence, vol. 3, The Correspondence with C.R. Leslie, R.A. (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK: Suffolk Records Society, 1965), 26, 26n2, 91, as Helmingham Dell.
R.B. Beckett, ed., John Constable’s Correspondence, vol. 4, Patrons, Dealers, and Fellow Artists (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK: Suffolk Records Society, 1966), 85, 106, 141-45, as Helmingham Dell.
R.B. Beckett, ed., John Constable’s Correspondence, vol. 6, The Fishers (Ipswich, Suffolk, UK: Suffolk Records Society, 1968), 258, 258n2, as Helmingham Dell.
Gertrude Rosenthal, ed., From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists, exh. cat. (Baltimore: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968), 76-77, (repro.), as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 1, Art of the Occident, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 154, (repro.), as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Ian Fleming-Williams, Constable: Landscape Watercolours and Drawings (London: Tate Gallery, 1976), 18, (repro.), as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Leslie Parris, Ian Fleming-Williams, and Conal Shields, Constable: Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings (London: Tate Gallery, 1976), 171.
Robert Hoozee, L’opera complete di Constable (Milan: Rizzoli, 1979), no. 530, unpaginated, (repro.), as Helmingham Dell.
John D. Morse, Old Master Paintings in North America: Over 3000 Masterpieces by 50 Great Artists (New York: Abbeville, 1979), 56, as The Dell in Helmingham Park.
Graham Reynolds, Constable's England, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983), 170, (repro.), as Helmingham Dell.
Malcolm Cormack, Constable (Oxford: Phaidon, 1986), 196, 208-10, as Helmingham Dell.
Richard Dorment, British Painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art: From the Seventeenth through the Nineteenth Century, exh. cat. (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1986), 65-66, (repro.), as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
Graham Reynolds, Charles Rhyne, and Julius Meier-Graefe, John Constable, R.A. (1776-1837), An Exhibition: Paintings, Drawings, Watercolors, Mezzotints, exh. cat. (New York: Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, 1988), 55, (repro.), as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
Michael Brenson, “2 Sides of Constable: Classic and Romantic,” The New York Times 137, no. 47,504 (May 13, 1988): C26, as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
Jane H. Hancock, Sheila Ffolliott, and Thomas O’Sullivan, Homecoming: The Art Collection of James J. Hill (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1991), 24, 26-27, (repro.), as Helmingham Dell.
Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams, Constable, exh. cat. (London: Tate Gallery, 1991), 315-17, (repro.), as Helmingham Dell.
Gene A. Mittler, Art in Focus, 4th ed. (New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000), 473, (repro.), as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
Elizabeth A. Pergam, The Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857: Entrepreneurs, Connoisseurs and the Public (Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate, 2011), 317, as The Dell at Helmingham Park.
