The view is of the millpond at Flatford on the River Stour. Flatford Mill was a watermill for grinding corn, operated by the Constable family for nearly a hundred years. It still survives and is about a mile from Constable’s birthplace at East Bergholt, Suffolk. The house on the left also survives; in Constable’s time it was occupied by tenant farmer Willy Lott.

The title, The Hay Wain, refers to the wooden wagon (wain) used for transporting cut and dried meadow grass (hay). The empty wagon is making its way through the shallow water to cross to the meadow on the other side where haymakers are at work.

Although the painting evokes a Suffolk scene, it was created in the artist’s studio in London. Working from a number of open-air sketches made over several years, Constable then made a full-size preparatory oil sketch to establish the composition before painting the final picture.

Provenance: Purchased from the artist and taken to Paris in 1824 by the Anglo-French dealer John Arrowsmith; reputedly sold by him in 1825 to an anon, client (possibly to another dealer, the disposal of his stock being enforced by financial difficulties); anon, sale, Henry, Paris, 31 March–1 April 1828 (additional lot, unnumbered), bt by the impresario and collector Jean-François Boursault; among 80 pictures from Boursault’s collection purchased c. 1838 by Henry Artaria for the collection of Edmund Higginson, Saltmarsh Castle, Herefordshire; Higginson sale, Christie’s June 1846 (77), bt by the dealer Thomas Rought; subsequently with the dealer D.T. White, from whom purchased by 1853 by George Young; his sale Christie’s 19 May 1866 (25), bt Cox for Henry Vaughan, by whom presented to the National Gallery 1886.

Text from The National Gallery

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: The National Gallery, London
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: John Constable (1776 – 1837)
Date: 1821

Image Details
Date: 10 April 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/40s
ISO: 400
Licensing: Image of a National Gallery asset. This image cannot be licensed.