The Hay Wain

John Constable

1821 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery, London

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Hay Wain

Dedham Vale (The Vale of Dedham)

Hadleigh Castle, The Mouth of the Thames

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: John Constable (1776–1837)
Year: 1821
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 130.2 × 185.4 cm
Collection: National Gallery, London
Movement: Romanticism

An empty hay cart fords the shallow River Stour at Flatford, in Suffolk, beside Willy Lott's cottage, with a dog on the bank, meadows and haymakers in the distance and a big sky of moving cloud. Constable painted it in his London studio in 1821 from sketches made near his childhood home, working up a full-size oil sketch first, as he did for all his large river scenes. The Royal Academy received it coolly, but when it was shown in Paris in 1824 it won a gold medal and impressed Delacroix with its broken touches of white and its fresh greens. It was given to the National Gallery in 1886. The view has barely changed, and the mill and cottage can still be visited.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Fresh greens, a wide sky and a river crossing make this a living-room or dining-room landscape, over a sofa at 24×36 in natural wood or black. It suits a country-style room with wood furniture and a cream wall; also a kitchen at 16×24.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Romanticism painting
Era: 19th century (1821)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: calm
Rooms: living room, kitchen, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Hay Wain in the public domain?

Yes. John Constable (1776–1837) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Gallery.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Hay Wain painted, and in what medium?

The Hay Wain dates from 1821 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 130.2 × 185.4 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Hay Wain we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Constable's The Hay Wain — the whole idyllic river scene shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. The best-loved English landscape painting, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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