The exhibition has been the most popular in the museum's history

The display, Constable and the Lake District, has attracted double the number of visitors than any other at Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Trust.

The drawings are a selection of 100 created by the artist during his intensive seven-week tour of the area.

The exhibition at the museum, which has undergone a �120,000 revamp, runs until the end of October.

David Wilson, the Robert Woof director of the Wordsworth Trust, which runs the museum, said: "It seems that this story of the importance of the Lake District in the development of a young artist into one of this country's greatest painters has caught people's imaginations.

Romantic poet

"It is the first time that these drawings have been exhibited together and being able to bring them back to the Lake District to mark the 200th anniversary of Constable's visit was a privilege for us.

"Our team here has also done a huge amount of original research on the drawings which has led to a new understanding of how the Lake District influenced Constable."

The museum is dedicated to the work of the 19th Century romantic poet William Wordsworth.

More than 50,000 documents, works of art, and general memorabilia are held by the Wordsworth Trust. About 75,000 people visit Dove Cottage each year.

Since it was founded in 1891, the trust has developed a museum, archive, store, library and shop.