The Hay Wain The Hay Wain The Hay Wain is a painting by John Constable, finished 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. Painted in oils on canvas, the work depicts as its central feature three horses pulling what in fact appears to be a wood wain or large farm cart across the river. Willy Lott's Cottage, also the subject of an eponymous painting by
Louis Wain and eventually became a teacher there for a short period. At the age of 20, Wain was left to support his mother and his five sisters after his father's death. Wain soon quit his teaching position to become a freelance artist, and in this role he achieved substantial success. He specialized in drawing animals and country scenes, and worked for several journals including the "Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News", where he stayed for four years, and "The Illustrated London News", beginning in 1886. Through the 1880s, Wain's work included detailed illustrations of English country houses and estates, along with livestock