Sleepy Suffolk causes a stir

July 24, 2012 - PRLog -- Sleepy Suffolk has been in the news recently for a very good reason; a painting of the beautiful landscape was sold for a record price.

John Constable's The Lock became one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold, fetching £22.4 million at auction at Christie's in London.

The 1824 masterpiece easily topped the previous highest price for a Constable of £10.8 million. In doing so it secured joint fourth place on the list of most expensive Old Masters.

Another Suffolk work, George Stubbs's Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a Trainer, a Stable-Lad, and a Jockey, fetched the same price in 2011.

John Constable's depiction of idyllic rural life in Suffolk was one on six large scale works in his Stour Valley series which were exhibited between 1819 and 1825. The series painted around Suffolk also includes the equally renowned landscape The Hay Wain.

Although the rural depicted in The Lock seems a traditional now, in 1824 the artist's use of colour and the contemporary scene was considered radical.

The decision to sell The Lock this year also caused a stir. It was surrounded with controversy involving a much-married baron, an international art expert and a former Miss Spain.

In recent years The Lock had pride of place in Madrid's Bornemisza Museum on loan from its owner Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, a former beauty queen.

The decision of the fifth wife and widow of Swiss industrialist Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza to sell because she had "no liquidity" upset her late husband's daughter Francesca Von Habsburg and other people.

Museum trustee Sir Norman Rosenthal resigned in protest at the sale, criticising the baroness - known as Tita - for putting one of its prize exhibits up for sale.

All this controversy is far removed from the peaceful scenes Constable captures around Flatford Hill in his native Suffolk.

Anyone who enjoyed Suffolk weekend breaks will know the county boasts stunning scenery, beautiful beaches and historic sites including the Saxon burial at Sutton Hoo.

The archaeological site of Sutton Hoo in Woodbridge is part of a 245 acre estate. The 90 ft ship-burial of an Anglo Saxon king has been called the first page of English history.

Many of the rolling Suffolk landscapes can still be seen today as Constable saw them, preserved by The National Trust and other caring landowners.

In the heart of the beautiful Dedham Vale The National Trust runs daily guided tours of Constable country including the hamlet of Flatford, Bridge Cottage and the dry dock featured in Constable's painting Boat Building at Flatford.

Painting holidays are also a popular pastime throughout the county and attract budding Constables from across the world.

Visit: http://Bedfordlodgehotel.co.uk