John Constable: Toward a Complete Chronology. - Reed College

Farington's diary are organized chronologically but are not indexed by name so
that it is even more time consuming to locate references to any given artist.
When a new drawing or sketch appears with a dated inscription in Constable's
hand, it can take even a Constable expert, with personal library readily at hand,
fifteen or twenty minutes simply to check whether or not we know where
Constable was on that day; to see, for example, if the scene represented
coincides with his supposed whereabouts. If one locates a dated reference to
the same week, one cannot be sure that there is not a reference closer to the
exact day without an exhaustive search of every volume. Even if a reference to
the specific day is found, it may not be the primary reference giving the full
letter, and there may be other volumes in which the same letter is mentioned or
quoted in other instructive contexts. This chronology attempts to answer these
questions quickly and reliably.
Beyond its function as an index, this chronology includes the origin of and
destination for each letter and the names of Constable's correspondents so that
Constable's movements and the names of those with whom he was most
involved can be followed directly from the chronology. Read as a narrative, the
chronology also provides an overview of Constable's activity as a writer and
receiver of letters and, until the end of 1821, of his conversations with Joseph
Farington. I have tried to restrict the entries to information regarding
Constable's movements and activities, though, especially with Farington's
entries, these occasionally include some of his views on life and art.
In order to make this a complete index to all dated references to Constable
in the eight published volumes of Constable's correspondence, discourses, and
other documents, I have included all dates given by Beckett, even though we
now know a few of these to be incorrect (where known, the errors have been
noted and the correct dates added to the chronology). For the same reason, I
have included Beckett's occasional dates for drawings and paintings by
Constable. After dated inscriptions on Constable's drawings and paintings have
been added from the catalogue raisonné, Beckett's occasional mention of these
will be reduced to "see also" references.
In the projected complete version of this chronology, I expect to add an
index to persons and places mentioned in the chronology and to quote directly
from Farington's manuscript at Windsor Castle rather than from the generally
reliable transcription in the published volumes. I am anxious to hear from
scholars, including those in other disciplines, who have suggestions for other
additions or improvements to the chronology in its present form, and I should
appreciate hearing of any comparable complete chronologies for other artists
or for major figures in any field. In working toward a complete chronology for