John Constable

Anthony Bailey has won high praise for his books about artists: two idiosyncratic studies of Rembrandt, a much admired biography of Turner, and his masterpiece about Vermeer. He lives in Essex.

"Bailey performs the chronicler's task with a novelist's heart, which is why he is the pleasing biographer that he is... A picture slowly emerges of a reactionary who became a revolutionary by default... It's a picture I find utterly convincing" -- Waldemar Januszczak Sunday Times "Extremely readable" -- Charles Saumarez Smith Observer "As with his earlier book on Vermeer, Bailey's genius lies in finding a literary equivalent for his subject's style. He doesn't just describe Constable's pictures, he writes them, each spare word like a stroke of the artist's brush... lovely" -- Charles Darwent Independent on Sunday "[Bailey] has lifted the lids on all the pies, pulled out the plums and served them up in a different and toothsome order... Judicious. The portrait that emerges is rounded, attractive and entertaining" -- Brian Lynch Irish Times "If, for you, the joy of reading is being absorbed into another world, this elegant and detailed life of painter John Constable, the first since 1843, will not disappoint. Anthony's style is deceptively cool, almost unobtrusive... This sensitive book resonates with respect and admiration, treating the man with humanity and demolishing for ever the "chocolate box" frivolity surrounding Constable's name and work" -- Jeffrey Taylor Sunday Express