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The Lock

1834
Not on view
A lock-keeper opens the gates of Flatford Lock in the foreground to lower the water level for a barge that waits at right. The engraver Lucas captured a scene that Constable knew intimately, centered on the broad meadows of Dedham Vale and distant tower of Dedham Church. The print reproduces one of Constable's famous "six-footer" paintings, shown at the Royal Academy in 1824. Soon after the latter sold on opening day, the engraver Samuel William Reynolds proposed a related print, but it would not be completed for a decade. In the spring of 1832, Reynolds' pupil David Lucas began the engraving which was then published in 1834. Lucas had worked closely with Constable between 1830-32 on a series of twenty-two smaller mezzotints known collectively as "English Landscape," so he was well prepared for the more ambitious scale of "The Lock."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Lock
  • Engraver: David Lucas (British, Geddington Chase, Northamptonshire 1802–1881 London)
  • Artist: After John Constable (British, East Bergholt 1776–1837 Hampstead)
  • Publisher: Francis Graham Moon (British, London 1796–1871 Brighton)
  • Publisher: Hodgson, Boys and Graves (London)
  • Date: 1834
  • Medium: Mezzotint and etching
  • Dimensions: Plate: 27 3/16 × 20 5/8 in. (69 × 52.4 cm)
    Sheet: 31 5/16 × 26 7/8 in. (79.5 × 68.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Gordon Watts and Vivien Watts in honor of Ann Watts, 2024
  • Object Number: 2024.232
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Weymouth Bay, David Lucas British, Mezzotint on chine collé; progress proof
Weymouth Bay
David Lucas
After John Constable
1830
On the Wharfe, Bolton Abbey, William Callow British, Watercolor
On the Wharfe, Bolton Abbey
William Callow
September 30, 1858
Nocturne: Palaces, James McNeill Whistler American, Etching and drypoint; printed in dark brown ink on drum mounted medium weight ivory laid paper.
Nocturne: Palaces
James McNeill Whistler
1879–80
Mill near Colchester, David Lucas British, Mezzotint; published state
Mill near Colchester
David Lucas
After John Constable
1855
Stroh Violin, George Evans & Co. English, Mahogany and aluminum, British
Stroh Violin
George Evans & Co.
first quarter 20th century

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