Constable sketch of Dover found in suitcase during house clearance

The sketch of Dover was discovered in a suitcase during a house clearance

A sketch drawn by John Constable more than 200 years ago has been found in a suitcase during a house clearance.

The pencil drawing of Dover is one of a series of sketches the artist created in April 1803 when he spent almost a month on board a ship off the Kent coast.

It was uncovered in a smashed frame in an old suitcase in a house in the Leeds area.

The sketch will be auctioned in Scarborough on Friday.

Auctioneers said the late owners of the property had seemingly failed to recognise that their unsigned picture was a genuine long-lost Constable.

The sketch is a detailed view across the water of Dover harbour towards the quayside buildings, with the castle high above the town and the cliffs stretching away into the distance.

It is thought Constable made as many as 130 drawings on the voyage, although the whereabouts of fewer than 50 are known today.

Dominic Cox, from auctioneers David Duggleby, said: "Drawings from Constable's 1803 trip have made astonishing amounts of money.

"His sketch of HMS Victory on the Medway sold for £216,000 some years ago.

"Fortunately for collectors who would like to have a Constable on the wall the Dover view is not expected to make quite that much."

The pre-sale estimate for the Dover sketch is between £2,000 and £3,000.

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