This was the second of two lectures by Nicola Moorby presented to between The Arts Society Henley (TASH) on its AGM 2026 day. This lecture, comparing and contrasting the life and works of Constable and Turner was fascinating.
Both painted landscapes, and were near contemporaries, but while Turner started life quite poor, Constable came from a wealthier business family. His family life was very happy, so he concentrated on painting Suffolk where he was happy. His career developed more slowly than Turner's, but they clearly learnt a lot from each other in techniques and even in subjects.
Even though Mike Leigh's film on Turner makes out that Constable and Turner were great rivals, this was only in passing. Their home lives were also very different. Constable had a notably happy home life, with six children' though he was widowed after the birth of the sixth child.
Turner never married, but had at least two female partners and two illegitimate children whom he basically ignored.
Nicola Moorby presented this large amount of information clearly, and both lectures greatly amplified what could be learnt from the pictures themselves.
TASH TALK Report by Robert Gurney: TURNER VS CONSTABLE - The Great British Paint Off, by Nicola Moorby, April 16th 2026
Published on: April 21, 2026
Published By Society: Henley-on-Thames
