Frequently asked questions
Which size should I choose?
This work is available in 30 × 40 cm, 50 × 70 cm. As a guide: 30 × 40 cm (about 12 × 16 in) for shelves, corners or gallery walls; 50 × 70 cm (about 20 × 28 in) above a dresser, a headboard or a desk; 70 × 100 cm (about 28 × 39 in) as the centrepiece of a living room or the wall above the sofa. Below the buy buttons you can see it to scale above a 2-metre sofa.
Does it come framed?
The print arrives unframed with a white border, ready to frame. If you choose a black or oak frame, it arrives mounted behind acrylic glazing, ready to hang. Canvases come stretched on a wooden frame.
When will it arrive?
Printed to order at the lab closest to your address. It arrives in 4–8 working days in Spain and the EU, and in 6–12 working days in the US, Mexico and other destinations.
What if it arrives damaged?
Email us a photo within 30 days of delivery and we will send you a new one free of charge or refund you.
Can I send it as a gift?
Yes. At checkout you can write a gift message and ship it to the recipient's name and address. The parcel shows no prices.
About the work
- Artist
- John Constable
- Date
- 1824
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Collection
- Private collection (on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 1992–2011)
- Print up to
- 50 × 70 cm
- Reference
- XDV-2759
What the museum label doesn't tell you
Constable painted six giant canvases of the Stour river, all horizontal, all calm, all made for the eye to wander. This is the only vertical one. That's not a stylistic whim: the composition pushes upward because the man in it is pushing upward, wrestling the lock gate open against a darkening sky. For once in the series there's real physical strain, not quiet contemplation. Format follows gesture. Constable showed it at the Royal Academy in 1824 and it sold that same day for 150 guineas, the only time in his career that happened. Coincidence, or did buyers actually feel the tension?
