Anne and Mary Constable: The Artist's Sisters

Maker John Constable (British, 1776-1837)

SitterSitter: Ann Constable (British, 1768 - 1854)

SitterSitter: Mary Constable (British, 1781 - 1862)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1818

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensionscanvas: 15 1/2 × 12 in. (39.4 × 30.5 cm.) frame: 22 1/4 × 18 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (56.5 × 47 × 6.4 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextThough better known as a landscape painter, Constable produced a number of portraits of family members that reveal great psychological insight. Here, the artist contrasts the personalities of his younger sister Mary and his eldest sister Ann. Mary wears a red riding hood over a delicate muslin gown. Her unfocused expression suggests she is lost in thought. Ann, a more forceful character, is dressed in a woman’s version of a masculine riding habit. With its tendrils winding between them, an ivy vine – a symbol
of friendship and fidelity – visually links the two sitters and alludes to their sisterly bond.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number61.7