Constable trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London and, at the time of this etching, was famous for his large romantic landscapes, including The Hay Wain, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821. He also made several paintings of Salisbury Cathedral, including Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds, exhibited in 1823.

Constable gave this etching of Milford Bridge to Jane Inglis, the daughter of his cousin Anne. On a piece of paper still attached to the original frame he wrote, ‘Etched by John Constable. Presented to Mrs Inglis 1835’. Constable gave proofs of the print to other friends but no edition was ever published.

This etching now enters the collection of Young Gallery, Salisbury, just a few miles away from the scene it depicts.

Provenance

Jane Ann Inglis (the daughter of Constables cousin), 1835; William Weston Gallery, 1983; American private collection; Gerrish Fine Art.