Event archive
A Cast of Characters: Constable, People and Place
- 5 November 2025 5.30pm - 7.30pm
- The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1TF
- Exclusive to EAAF Members - if you're not a member and would like to attend this event Join Now.
‘Still I should paint my own places best; painting is with me but another word for feeling’ Constable to John Fisher, 1821
For this year's EAAF Annual Lecture, Curator and Art Historian Emma Roodhouse will present A Cast of Characters: Constable, People and Place. In advance of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Suffolk artist, John Constable (1776-1837) in 2026, A Cast of Characters is an opportunity to find out about how the artist's early career was formed by the people and place in East Anglia.
Today Constable is recognised as one of the most important of all British artists, who changed how we look at our landscape and create art. The area where he was born, grew up, and painted is now known as ‘Constable Country’. His work has influenced and inspired generations of people. Who influenced Constable on his journey to becoming an artist? Who were his early mentors and supporters? How was his career nurtured by East Anglian artists and patrons?
In 2026 Colchester + Ipswich Museums (CIMS) plan to lead a year-long celebration of this internationally significant artists’ life and art. It will include three landmark exhibitions with internationally famous paintings on loan from Tate, V&A, Royal Academy (RA), Government Art Collection and National Galleries of Scotland. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Weston Loan Programme (Art Fund) grants.
Tickets are £18 and include drinks on arrival.
| 5.30pm | Arrivals and drinks |
| 6.00pm | Lecture |
| 7.30pm | Close |
- Golding Constable's Flower Garden, 1815
- John Constable
- Oil on canvas
- © Colchester & Ipswich Museums, Ipswich Borough Council
