Cloud Study, Hampstead, Tree at Right

Constable was not attracted to the formality of city parks as he felt that a “gentleman's park is my aversion. It is not beauty because it is not nature”. To escape these artificially cultivated spaces he looked to the wilder landscape of north London’s Hampstead Heath and the skies above it. The high ground there was an ideal observation point for cloud formations, which he began making direct studies of in 1821. Some sketches show clouds only and others like this show the tops of trees.

Constable developed a great ability to capture the constantly changing forms whilst working in oil paintings in the open air. He wanted his landscapes to be lit consistently with the kind of skies that he painted. Some scholars attribute Constable's interest in clouds to the fact he was a miller’s son and knowing which direction the wind would blow was important in the adjusting of the sails of windmills.