11
March 2026

“My Scrambling Affair” : How Constable’s Late Paintings Changed the Face of Modern Art

Welcome to The Arts Society Uckfield, Lewes & Newick
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 - 14:30
Weald Hall
Uckfield Civic Centre Uckfield TN22 1AE
Online Event

Long before Impressionism, Constable’s exuberant brush and palette knife work shocked audiences

Long before Impressionism, Constable’s exuberant brush and palette -knife work shocked audiences; canvases with their rough and ‘specky’ surfaces horrified with their lack of ‘finish’, selling only twenty or so in his lifetime to English collectors and friends. In contrast he sold many to French dealers and collectors and influenced a generation of French painters including Delacroix and later Monet, thus becoming one of the fathers of Modern Painting. This lecture uses detailed images taken during technical and scientific examination to illustrate the artist’s diverse painting methods, bringing to life Constable’s ‘late’ paintings and artistic temperament revealing a Jackson Pollock of the 1830s. Constable’s ‘Chocolate Box’ pictures will never seem the same again!!

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Ms Sarah Cove

Sarah Cove is an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with more than 35 years’ experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She is based in London and Falmouth and is a specialist in British portraits, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. In 1986 she founded the Constable Research Project and she is now the leading authority on Constable’s materials and techniques. She has appeared in several TV programmes for the BBC notably Constable in Love with Andrew Graham-Dixon and twice on Fake or Fortune? where she was instrumental in the discovery of 3 ‘lost’ Constables. Other research interests include Tudor and Jacobean Portraiture, the 19th century Newlyn and St Ives schools and early-to-mid 20th century British painting generally. She has been a lecturer for The Arts Society since 2003 and is an experienced international speaker having lectured independently at major public and gallery venues across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Her presentations are lively and enthusiastic as she speaks without notes with an inimitable passion that comes from presenting her own work and research with wonderful images.