A Windmill on the Downs near Brighton

08/1824 · Oil painting · 21 × 30.4 cm

May one see it?

Yes, receiving visitors

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

RoomPaintings, Room 88, The Edwin and Susan Davies Galleries

On public display.

Checked: 7 days ago
In this state since: Sep 25, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the painting

As Constable’s father owned a windmill, the painter was familiar with their workings. This study depicts a mill near Brighton. Twelve years later Constable combined this scene with a view of Branch Hill Pond in the composition Hampstead Heath with a Rainbow, now in Tate Britain.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Particulars

Accession number: 126-1888

What it shows

Windmill Rainbow

In the catalog

British School Great Britain

Sources

Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 7 days ago
Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Meanwhile, in the life of John Constable

The whole life

1822/1823
Daughter born: Isabel Constable
1824
The Paris Salon: a gold medal
The Anglo-French dealer John Arrowsmith bought The Hay Wain and other works, and in 1824 they were shown at the Paris Salon, where they caused a sensation. The Hay Wain was awarded a gold medal by Charles X.
1824
Delacroix repaints the background of “The Massacre at Chios”
After seeing Constable’s pictures at Arrowsmith’s gallery, Delacroix repainted the background of his Massacre at Chios, saying the paintings had done him a great deal of good. In his journal he noted that Constable’s meadow greens are a combination of many different shades.
1824–1828
The family in Brighton for Maria’s health
When Maria began to show symptoms of tuberculosis, Constable took lodgings for the family in Brighton in the hope that sea air would restore her health, dividing his time between Brighton and Charlotte Street in London. He was unsure at first that Brighton suited painting, and complained to Fisher that the beach was only Piccadilly by the sea.
1825
A quarrel with Arrowsmith: the French market is lost
In 1825 Constable quarrelled with Arrowsmith and lost his French outlet, perhaps partly from worry over his wife’s health, the uncongenial life at Brighton and the pressure of outstanding commissions. In a few years he had sold more than twenty pictures in France, more than he sold at home.