A COLLECTION of lost drawings by Constable discovered in a Detroit suburb are set to go under the hammer this summer.

The Jasper L Moore Collection of five drawings have not been seen on the market for at least 50 years, while the chalk drawing of the Dorset Coast and the two views of Hedingham Castle appear to be unrecorded.

The sketches were owned by Jasper Moore, from Michigan, who traced his roots back to the Mayflower as a descendant of John Howland.

He began collecting works of art during the Second World War while stationed in California and was still collecting up until his recent death aged 90.

John Constable, the Suffolk-born 19th-Century master of English landscape, was the focus of his collecting and he amassed more than 180 mezzotints by David Lucas after Constable, as well as the five drawings being sold.

When writing to a museum director, Mr Moore said: “Looking at Mr Constable’s glorious work makes Harriet’s (his wife) and my heart take flight.”

The collection also includes two finished drawings, Salisbury Cathedral: The West End and Coleorton Hall, which is the star lot in the folio.

Constable stayed at Coleorton Hall in Leicestershire in November 1823 after suffering a bout of ill health, and he stayed a few extra days to spend time with Poet Laureate Robert Southey.

The collection will be sold in Bonham’s Old Masters sale in London on July 3.