A web of legacies: John Constable’s ‘Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds’
Since its foundation, the National Gallery’s Collection has continued to grow and develop thanks to generous donations and bequests from its supporters. Behind each of these gifts is a fascinating story of the collectors, patrons, artists, and art lovers that have brought together some of the world’s greatest paintings to Trafalgar Square. One notable artist whose presence in our collection can be traced back through legacies is John Constable.
Following Constable’s death in 1837, a group of his friends led by William Purton, and including poet William Wordsworth and artist William Beechey, campaigned for the acquisition of ‘The Cornfield’ (1826) for the Gallery’s Collection. This was the first work by Constable to enter our collection. His presence was later cemented by a bequest from his daughter Isabel, which included 'Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds' (1833-6).
The journey of this work to the Gallery reveals an entangled history of legacies involving the Constable family, artist and benefactor Sir George Beaumont, and Royal Academy founder Sir Joshua Reynolds.
The Impact of Isabel Constable
At the close of 1888, the Gallery received word that Miss Isabel Constable, the eldest and last surviving child of John Constable, had left five of her father’s oil paintings to the Gallery upon her death. It was her wish, as outlined in her will, that the paintings recognise all three of Constable’s children and be acknowledged as 'a gift from Maria Louisa Constable, Isabel Constable and Lionel Bicknell Constable'. Included in her bequest was ‘Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds' - the four other paintings included in the bequest were later transferred to the Tate.
'Cenotaph' was the first Constable painting to enter the Gallery's Collection as a bequest; it would be joined by another eleven as part of the 1910 Salting Bequest. It was not, however, the first gift that Isabel Constable made to us. In 1887, she donated three small drawings from her father's oeuvre, along with one of his used palettes, providing valuable insight into the way the artist worked. Perhaps Isabel’s background as an artist herself convinced her of the value of these objects.
Furthermore, whilst Isabel's generosity allowed us to acquire these well-loved items, we were not the only institution to benefit from her generosity. She gifted another palette, as well as a cast of her father's death mask, to the Royal Academy, and donated nearly 400 oil paintings, watercolours and drawings to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Beaumont and Reynolds Legacies
'Cenotaph' is a depiction of the grounds of Coleorton Hall in Leicestershire, once the primary residence of Sir George Beaumont and his family. Beaumont was not only a celebrated painter himself but a patron to other artists, John Constable included. Our Collection includes a portrait of him, ‘Sir George Beaumont’ by John Hoppner, bequeathed to us by the art collector Claude Dickason Rotch in 1962.
During a trip to Coleorton Hall, where he had been invited for the purpose of studying Beaumont's collection, Constable made some pencil drawings of the grounds, including this one of the cenotaph to Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Years later, he turned this sketch into an oil painting, 'Cenotaph to the Memory of Sir Joshua Reynolds', which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1836. The history of the painting not only highlights the relationship between Constable and Beaumont, but also that between Beaumont and Reynolds.
The principal focus of the painting is a memorial which Beaumont had built and dedicated to Reynolds, a significant figure in British art history as both a renowned portraitist and the first president of the Royal Academy. The memorial was inscribed with a dedication written by William Wordsworth, another of Beaumont's friends and one of the famed Lake Poets.
Just as Isabel Constable donated some of her father's works to the Gallery, so the Beaumonts were similarly generous. In 1823, Sir George promised his collection of old master paintings to the nation, on condition that the Government purchase the thirty-eight paintings belonging to John Julius Angerstein, as the foundation of the new National Gallery. Beaumont was good to his word and the ‘Beaumont Gift’ was made in 1826. After his death in 1827, two paintings by Beaumont himself were donated to the Gallery by his wife Lady Margaret Beaumont, including ‘Landscape, with Jacques and the Wounded Stag’.
In 1889, another Lady Beaumont wrote to the Gallery, this time to donate a print of 'Cenotaph' and to shed light on the memorial's inscription, which had hitherto been unknown. Appropriately, two of the Gallery’s philanthropic supporters’ networks, the George Beaumont Group and Circle, are named after our first donor.
The Philanthropy of Felicity Owen
Continuing a tradition of patronage, Mrs Felicity Owen (1926-2019), an art historian and descendant of the Beaumont family, made a gift to the Research Centre in her Will. She had published an important biography of Beaumont in 1988, and that same year, the 160th anniversary of the Beaumont Gift, she co-curated an exhibition at the Gallery showcasing this generous act. After Mrs Owen died in 2019, her legacy was used to fulfil her wish to promote opportunities for researchers interested in nineteenth-century art.
The breadth of history, 200 years' worth, that can be uncovered by tracing the roots of one painting is truly fascinating. Whilst Sir George Beaumont celebrated Reynolds' legacy with his cenotaph, John Constable honoured them both with his painting of the scene at Coleorton Hall. And just as Isabel Constable contributed to her father's legacy by donating his pictures to the Gallery, so the legacy of the Beaumont family endures to this day.
The history of the National Gallery Collection is inseparable from the story of the individuals who helped shape it. We are so grateful for their generosity which enables us to care for, grow and share these masterpieces for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.
