The collector and the collected
Scotsman: Constable sketch unearthed in Japan
FG trivia: Matsukata's neice, Haru Matsukata, married Edwin O. Reischauer, former US ambassador to Japan.A PREVIOUSLY unknown painting by Constable has been discovered after gathering dirt in a Japanese collector's store for more than half a century. The oil sketch of Dedham Vale in Suffolk, where the artist grew up, is estimated to make 80,000-120,000 pounds when it goes to auction. It is thought the painting, finished in 1810, was bought by Japanese industrialist and art-lover, Baron Kojiro Matsukata [former president of Kawasaki Shipbuilding] in the early 1900s. When he died in 1950, the work was passed to a Japanese collector who was unaware of its importance. It finally came to light in September when a grainy photograph was sent to Sotheby's Tokyo office, and experts decided the painting needed closer inspection.
