Constable's Great Landscapes:

The Six-Foot Paintings
Feb. 3, 2007 - April 29, 2007

Events and Programming

Exhibition Tours

Feb. 3, 2007 - April 29, 2007
Docent-led tours of the exhibition "Constable's Great Landscapes: The Six-Foot Paintings" are available for groups of 10 or more by advance registration. Tour times are 10:30 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, or 9 a.m. on Saturdays. Cost is $20 per person, including admission. Pre-payment is required. Tours for this exhibition will run Feb. 3, 2007 - April 29, 2007 and will feature all six of John Constable’s monumental six-foot landscape paintings. Reservations for tours are required and must be made at least 30 days in advance. For tour information and reservations, please call 626-405-2240 or email tours@huntington.org.

Self-Guided Audio Tour

Visitors may pick up a listening device in the entrance arcade or the Boone Gallery and take a 45-minute self-guided audio tour of the exhibition offering insightful commentary and historic background. Cost: $5.

An Evening with LA Opera:
John Constable and the English Operas
Feb. 7, Wed., 7 - 9 p.m.
Inspired by the exhibition “Constable’s Great Landscapes: The Six Foot Paintings”, artists from LA Opera will join forces with the Huntington and present an evening of art and music. Melinda McCurdy, Huntington Assistant Curator of British Art, will discuss Constable’s six foot landscapes followed by artists from the LA Opera performing music from English composers who were part of the musical landscape of Constable’s time.
Member: $35, Non Members: $45. Registration: 626-405-2128. Includes admission to the Constable exhibition from 5:45 - 6:45. Box dinners will be available for purchase upon registration for the event. (Food orders must be placed by Feb. 2.)

David Hockney: The East Yorkshire Landscape
Feb. 9 - March 24, 2007 at L.A. Louver

An admirer of Constable's great landscapes, Hockney's concurrent show, at L.A. Louver gallery in Venice through March 24, focuses on much bigger pictures of a particular grove of trees in East Yorkshire. Painted outdoors during the past year, Hockney's landscapes required dividing each scene into six 3-foot-by-4-foot panels that were transported in a van and set up on easels tied to the ground. More about this show...

Related Article:  Muchnic, Suzanne. "Landscape perspectives. David Hockney rediscovers the landscape of his youth and his celebrated countryman, John Constable." Los Angeles Times, Feb.11, 2007.

For Kids:  A Great Big Landscape
Feb. 10, Sat., 9 – 11:30 a.m.           
Explore the English countryside in the paintings of John Constable, and then paint your own great landscape in this art workshop for children and families.  Includes a garden walk and a gallery tour.  Ages 7 and up with one accompanying adult. 
Members: $20, Non-members $25.  Registration: 626-405-2128.

“My Ambition is on Fire”: Constable’s Great Landscapes

The Robert R. Wark Lecture

Feb. 22 (Thursday)  6:30 p.m.

Anne Lyles of the Tate Britain will discuss Constable’s monumental six-foot landscapes, from the creative process he used when painting them to their reception at the prestigious Royal Academy.  Lyles is the curator of the current exhibition and world-renowned authority on Constable.  Free.  Friends’ Hall

Curator tour: Constable’s Great Landscapes
March 1, Thurs., 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Join Melinda McCurdy, Assistant Curator of British Art, for a private tour of the Huntington exhibition Constable’s Great Landscapes: The Six-Foot Paintings. Gain insight into the creative process of the artist and his monumental landscape masterpieces, which are the largest and most celebrated of the British artist’s works! (Please be advised that this is a walking tour of the exhibition and you will be on your feet for the duration of the tour.)
Members: $15, Non Members: $20. Registration: 626-405-2128.

Plein Air Painting Series
March 17, 24, and 31 (Saturdays) 1 - 4 p.m.
Taking Inspiration from the Huntington exhibition, Constable’s Great Landscapes: The Six-Foot Paintings, artist Robert Sherrill leads this series with a special emphasis on painting clouds, sky and trees. Other topics to be explored include shape, value, color and edges. Under the guidance of the instructor, students will use the grounds of the Huntington to create beautiful landscapes!
Members: $145. Non Members: $165. Registration: 626-405-2128.

Constable¹s Techniques in the Six-Footers
The Robert R. Wark Lecture

April 5, Thurs., 7 p.m.
Art conservator Sarah Cove, founder of the Constable Research Project, will present a slide lecture on the ground-breaking study of Constable¹s landscapes undertaken in preparation for this exhibition. The technical examination and scientific analysis of the artist¹s work, which included X-radiography, reveal fascinating new insights into his working methods and materials.
Free. Friends¹ Hall