Public sale records, not an appraisal

How much is The Hay Wain worth?

The Hay Wain is not for sale: it is held by the National Gallery, London, so it has no market price. The closest guide is Constable's highest documented sale: $35.2 million for The Lock, at Christie's London in 2012. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

Artist: John Constable
Date: 1821
Medium: Oil on canvas
Held by: National Gallery, London

Constable's record$35.2MThe Lock · 2012

Own a print or copy of The Hay Wain?

Most copies of The Hay Wain in homes are prints, posters or hand-painted copies. They sell as decorative pieces, not as Constable's work. These are the resale ranges Art Scanner's value estimate starts from.

Poster or unframed print$5–$60

Framed decorative or museum-shop print$40–$250

Large framed archival print$150–$800

Hand-painted copy$100–$800

An oil copy painted by hand, often sold as decor

Resale value in US dollars on a log scale: what copies actually sell for second-hand, not retail.

Dots under a magnifier

A regular grid of tiny coloured dots means a print, however old the frame looks.

Strokes that match the picture

Raised brushstrokes that follow the image mean a hand-painted copy. A few strokes over a flat print are added texture.

Labels on the back

Publisher, framer or gallery labels often say exactly what it is and when it was made.

Step by step: how to tell if a painting is valuable. Or scan it with Art Scanner: it checks original or print from the photo and gives a value range for the object you own.

About the painting

The Hay Wain – originally titled Landscape: Noon – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs in the National Gallery in London and is regarded as "Constable's most famous image" and one of the greatest and most popular English paintings. It is considered as one of the quintessential paintings from the Romantic movement of arts and literature.

More on the artist: the most expensive Constable ever sold, and where the famous ones hang.

Constable next to other famous artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research. Constable: $35.2 million for The Lock, in 2012.

Raphael$47.9MHead of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration · 2012
Turner$47.4MRome, from Mount Aventine · 2014
Rousseau$43.5MLes Flamants · 2023
Degas$41.6MPetite danseuse de quatorze ans · 2022
Constable$35.2MThe Lock · 2012
Pissarro$32.1MLe Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps · 2014
Vermeer$30.1MA Young Woman Seated at the Virginals · 2004
Michelangelo$27.2MStudy for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl · 2026
Sargent$23.5MGroup with Parasols · 2004

Nominal US dollars as reported at the time of sale, buyer's premium included where the source includes it.

Why it has no price

The Hay Wain is held by the National Gallery, London. Works in public collections are not sold, so no one can put a market price on them. Sale records of other works by the same artist are the closest guide to what it would fetch.

Scan it, see the price tag

Point Art Scanner at a famous painting and it names the work and shows its sale record or the artist's, with the museum that holds it. Painted something yourself? Try the free pricing calculator.

Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag — The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M, Musée du Louvre, 1962

Questions

How much is The Hay Wain worth?

The Hay Wain is not for sale: it is held by the National Gallery, London, so it has no market price. The closest guide is Constable's highest documented sale: $35.2 million for The Lock, at Christie's London in 2012. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

How much is a print of The Hay Wain worth?

Most prints and posters of The Hay Wain sell for $5–$250, with framed ones at the top of that range, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800. They are priced as decorative pieces, not as Constable's work.

Is The Hay Wain for sale?

No. It is held by the National Gallery, London. Works in public collections are not sold, so they have no market price.

What is Constable's most expensive work?

The Lock, which sold for $35.2 million at Christie's London in 2012. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Where is The Hay Wain?

The Hay Wain (1821, oil on canvas) is held by the National Gallery, London.