Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.133
Gallery Label:
Despite appalling weather, John Constable drew Perne’s Mill at Gillingham on several occasions in 1823 while he was staying with his friend Dr. John Fisher, the rector of Langham. Dr. Fisher knew the owner of the mill, Mr. Tinney, who had indicated that he would like to have a view of his “ancestor’s mill” as well as a view of Salisbury. For his part, Constable had wanted for some time to “do something” with the mill, which he called “wonderfull old & romantic.” Although the mill burned down in 1825, Constable produced this small picture with the aid of his Gillingham drawings and exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1826. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
