This exciting book presents a unique insight into Constable`s working process through the V&A`s unparalleled collection. It places the artist in the context of his historical and ongoing influence and charts Constable`s progress, from his early works to the oils that helped to define our idea of the English countryside. It presents afresh two of the V&A`s star works, the vibrant full-size oil sketches for The Hay Wain and The Leaping Horse, which will be shown for the first time since their revelatory cleaning. Both will reveal their original colours and tonalities for the first time in living memory, and will be shown with a spectacular selection of the artist`s small oil sketches, supplemented by an exquisite series of his watercolours and drawings.