John Constable

John Constable was born June 11, 1776, in East Bergholt, Suffolk. His father was a wealthy corn merchant. Constable was educated at Dedham Grammar School, and after he left school he worked in his father's business. His heart was not in it, however, and in 1799 he induced his father to send him to the Royal Academy in London to study art.
A fellow student at the Royal Academy School was JMW Turner, but the two men never became friends. Constable exhibited his first painting in 1802, but unlike Turner, success eluded him. He sold only 20 paintings in his lifetime, and was never recognized in his homeland while he was alive.