CONSTABLE, Lionel Bicknell

1828 - 1887

Lionel Bicknell Constable was born at Hampstead, London on 23 May 1828, seventh and last child of John Constable and his wife Maria née Bicknell (1788–23 November 1828). At least five of Constable’s seven children also drew or painted and he seems to have taught himself landscape painting entirely by studying his father’s work, and invariably worked on a small scale, his largest canvases being only around 30cm x 36cm. Lionel Bicknell, who was also a photographer, specialised in landscape painting and exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the British Institution, London. Until the late 1970s, many of the works now attributed to Lionel, were mistakenly thought to have been painted by his father and although a variety of work by him are now known, his full range is still uncertain. Lionel Constable was an unusual artist, although he exhibited as a professional at the Royal Academy and made other attempts to sell his work, he did not depend on painting for a living and was able to give it up after his brother Alfred’s tragic death in 1853. In 1881, a 52-year-old 'interest on money' living at 64 Hamilton Terrace, St John's Wood, London with his unmarried sisters, 61-year-old Maria Louisa (1819-1885) and 56-year-old Isobel (1822-1888). Lionel Bicknell Constable died at his St John’s Wood home on 20 June 1887, leaving an estate of just under £10,000.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 16 Cunningham Place, Maida Vale
1849 40 A Landscape
         358 A View near Twyford
1850 14 A Landscape
         516 A Stormy Day
         630 Tottenham Park
         975 An Ash Tree
1851 13 On the Coast of Cornwall
         1039 Entrance to Looe Harbour
1852 1129 Falls of the Tummell, Inverness-shire
         1293 View on the Thames, near Pangbourne, Berkshire
1853 729 A Study
1855 271 A Barn in Sussex
         1358 Entrance to a Wood

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Works by This Artist