Rereading Constable: Letters, Life and Art: Call for Papers

We invite proposals for papers to be given at a conference to be held at the Paul Mellon Centre on 2 December 2022, entitled Rereading Constable: Letters, Life and Art. This conference, convened by Stephen Daniels and Mark Hallett, forms part of the programme of events associated with the Centre’s Generation Landscape research project.

Rereading Constable will focus on the extraordinarily rich correspondence of the landscape painter John Constable (1776–1837). In their talks, speakers will be asked to concentrate on a single letter written by or to the artist, or by someone closely associated with his life and work. It is hoped that these individual letters will serve as the basis for fresh approaches to the art and letters of Constable and his contemporaries.

To propose a paper, please email an abstract of 250–300 words and a 50-word biography in a single Word document to [email protected] by midnight on Wednesday 31 August 2022. Proposals should set out your interest in the topic, identify the individual letter upon which you would like to focus and outline the kinds of issues and approaches that you would want to explore. Papers will be expected to be 20 minutes in length.

More information can be found on our events page here.