Exhibition Ended

Constable & McTaggart: A Meeting of Two Masterpieces

From Sat 8 Apr 2017 - Sun 25 Mar 2018

This exhibition has now ended!

About

“The Scottish National Gallery’s pairing of two masterpieces – a ‘new’ Constable and McTaggart’s The Storm – is inspired and impressive”
The Scotsman

One of the greatest masterpieces of British art, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) is one of a monumental series of ‘six-footer’ canvases painted by John Constable and was considered by the artist to convey ‘the fullest impression of the compass of his art’.

Painted in the aftermath of the death of the artist’s beloved wife Maria, this turbulent landscape is the most visually spectacular of all the ‘six-footers’ and the one of which he was most proud, referring to it as ‘The Great Salisbury’.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows (1831) was shown in dialogue with one of the most powerful and celebrated of all Scottish landscape paintings: William McTaggart’s The Storm (1890). Constable’s work was a source of profound inspiration for William McTaggart throughout much of his career, both on an artistic and personal level, and the display will explore the transformative influence of his artistic practice and technique on the ‘Father of Scottish Painting’.

Listen to an audio description of Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows 1831:

 

This audio description was developed by VocalEyes, in collaboration with Tate, for Aspire, a partnership programme touring Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows 1831 across the UK. Aspire is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund. © Tate 2015

Constable’s extraordinary landscape was secured by Tate for the British public in 2013 with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Manton Foundation, the Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation) and Tate Members. The painting comes to Edinburgh through the Aspire programme, a ground-breaking partnership of five UK museums and galleries: Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales, Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service, National Galleries of Scotland, The Salisbury Museum and Tate Britain.

Image: Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows exhibited 1831 John Constable © Tate, London 2013. Purchased with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Manton Foundation, Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation) and Tate Members.

Event highlights

Find out more

Sponsors

Partners

Supported by

Friends go free

Friends go free

Become a Friend to enjoy unique access to the nation’s art collection with unlimited free entry to exhibitions, Friends-only exhibition previews and a 10% discount in our gallery shops & cafés.

What's on

Browse what's on at the galleries below, or filter results to narrow your search.

What
Where
When
For
or those for:
Custom date
Access options