Constable's Hampstead Home: A Turning Point

0:00On April 2, John Constable, the famous landscape painter, picked Hamstead's home base back in the 18 teens to shield his wife Maria and their kids from London's nasty air. Cole Smoke from every chimney choked the city, mixing with sewage dumped into the Thames, making hot day straight up toxic. New book by Susan Owens, Constable's Year, breaks it all down, showing how he craved that fresh hill air near Hamstead Heath. He snagged a five-story house on Well Walk, just steps from the heat spot still up for grabs today and nearly five million pounds. Constable sketched the wild colors and stormy skies there, turning everyday scenes into masterpieces that captured the vibe of the land. Mary Maria in 1816, they had seven kids and took long walks on the heat together. He painted spots like Branch Hill Pond and got props from poet William Blake, who called his fir tree sketches straight inspiration not just drawing. Tragedy hit when their youngest arrived in 1828, Maria's health tanked from the strain and sear and brighten couldn't save her.

1:04She passed that 40 in late November back in Hamstead, leaving Constable Harbbroken. He kept painting till his own death at 60 in 1837, buried beside her in Hamstead. Owens's book paints that year as a turning point in his world of seasons and smoke.