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A horse-drawn farm cart crosses a shallow river in front of a cottage, under a sky of white summer clouds, while haymakers work in the fields beyond. Painted in 1821, John Constable's The Hay Wain is one of the most beloved paintings in Britain.
In this article
The landscape of a childhood
John Constable was born in 1776 in East Bergholt, Suffolk, in the valley of the river Stour, where his father owned mills. He spent his life painting this landscape, which he loved deeply. He wrote that the sound of water escaping from mill dams, willows, old rotten banks, slimy posts and brickwork were what made him a painter.
The Hay Wain shows the river Stour at Flatford Mill. On the left stands Willy Lott's Cottage, the home of a farmer who is said to have spent only four nights away from it in his long life. The cottage still stands today.
The hay wain
In the centre of the river, a hay wain, a large horse-drawn farm cart, crosses the shallow water. It is empty, on its way to collect hay from the fields. The horses have stopped to drink or cool their legs, and the driver sits calmly.
Detail 1
The hay wain in the river
The empty farm cart crosses the shallow river, its horses standing in the water. It gives the painting its name.
The dog
On the bank in the foreground, a dog watches the cart. This small, lively detail draws the eye into the scene and adds to its sense of everyday rural life.
Detail 2The watching dog
A small dog on the riverbank watches the cart, a lively detail of ordinary country life.
Willy Lott's Cottage
On the left, the cottage stands among trees, with smoke rising from its chimney, a woman at the water's edge. Constable painted it many times; it was a symbol of the home and continuity of the English countryside.
Detail 3Willy Lott's Cottage
The farmhouse on the left, with its chimney smoke and a woman at the river, still stands at Flatford today.
The sky
Constable was a passionate observer of clouds. He made dozens of oil sketches of skies, noting the time and weather on the back. In The Hay Wain, the sky of moving white and grey clouds sets the mood of a changeable English summer day, and the light falls in patches over the fields.
Detail 4Summer clouds
The great clouds move across the sky, painted from Constable's close study of weather.
The haymakers
In the distance on the right, in a sunlit field, small figures of haymakers work, and another cart is loaded with hay. They explain the cart's journey and give the scene its theme of agricultural work.
Detail 5Haymakers in the distance
In the sunny field beyond the river, haymakers load a cart, the work towards which the hay wain is heading.
Success in France
When The Hay Wain was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1821, it attracted little attention. But in 1824 it was shown at the Paris Salon, where it won a gold medal from King Charles X and deeply impressed French painters, including Eugène Delacroix. Constable's fresh, natural approach to landscape influenced the Barbizon painters and the Impressionists.
Seeing The Hay Wain
The painting measures about 1.3 by 1.85 metres. It hangs in the National Gallery in London.
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The Hay Wain
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From $299 — Make it yours.Frequently asked questions
Where is the place in The Hay Wain?
It shows the river Stour at Flatford Mill in Suffolk, with Willy Lott's Cottage on the left.
What is a hay wain?
A hay wain is a large horse-drawn farm cart used to carry hay.
Was The Hay Wain successful?
It won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in 1824 and influenced French painters such as Delacroix.
Where is The Hay Wain?
It is in the National Gallery in London.
Sources and further reading
- The National Gallery, London, collection notes on The Hay Wain
- Anne Lyles (ed.), Constable: The Great Landscapes (Tate, 2006)
- John Constable, letters to John Fisher
