Gainsborough's House

Gainsborough's House The official page of the national centre for Gainsborough

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What could possibly go wrong? 🧨 As featured in our May Newsletter, we dove into the John Constable archives this month, ...
29/05/2026

What could possibly go wrong? 🧨

As featured in our May Newsletter, we dove into the John Constable archives this month, where we found a fascinating book: ‘Pyrotechny’ (1824), belonging to Lionel Bicknell Constable (1828–1887).

Possibly bequeathed by his older brothers, the book is full of recipes and instructional for building 19th—Century fireworks 🎇

The book, “which the most limited capacities will be able to understand”, is a thoroughly fascinating and confusing read, annotated with different sketches of tried (and possibly failed!) formulae and experiments 🔬

For weird and wonderful curatorial insights, as well as more from around the museum, sign up to our newsletter here! https://gainsborough.org/sign-up-to-our-newsletter/ 👈
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It’s too hot to think, so we’ve decided to go to Venice instead 😅 Today, we’re taking a look at Francesco Guardi’s ‘View...
26/05/2026

It’s too hot to think, so we’ve decided to go to Venice instead 😅

Today, we’re taking a look at Francesco Guardi’s ‘View of the Madonnetta in the Venetian Lagoon’.

After Canaletto, Guardi was one of the main view painters in Venice in the eighteenth century. His paintings of the city, such as this part architectural fantasy or capriccio, were popular with British visitors.

He was renowned for his ‘pittura di tocco’ style, using flickering touches of paint to evoke light and movement. This view is thought to be loosely inspired by an island in the lagoon between Venice and Mestre, known as Anconetta or Madonnetta 🇮🇹

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🖼️ — Francesco Guardi (1712–93), ‘View of the Madonnetta in the Venetian Lagoon’, Oil on canvas, c. 1788–90, on loan from a Private Collection.

If you’ve ever stood in front of a painting and wanted someone brilliant to help you understand why it moves you, Susan ...
20/05/2026

If you’ve ever stood in front of a painting and wanted someone brilliant to help you understand why it moves you, Susan Owens is exactly the person you need in the room... 👀

Join us for a special evening with as she shares stories about Constable, the painter who transformed how we see the English landscape, and her major new book Constable’s Year: An Artist in Changing Seasons 📚

📆 Thursday 30 July, 6–7pm
📍 Landscape Studio, Gainsborough’s House
🎟️ Tickets: £15

Don’t miss this opportunity! Reserve your space via our website now – link in bio 🫶

Whether you come as a lover of , a follower of Susan’s writing, or simply someone who enjoys a brilliant mind talking about the things that matter to them, this is an evening that will leave you seeing the world a little differently ✨

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Romney’s ‘Party of Pleasure’? 👀We are back inside ‘Gainsborough, Turner & Constable: Inventing Landscape’ to spotlight G...
19/05/2026

Romney’s ‘Party of Pleasure’? 👀

We are back inside ‘Gainsborough, Turner & Constable: Inventing Landscape’ to spotlight George Romney’s particular standout: ‘The Boating Party’ 🛶

Romney was born in Cumbria and became one of the most fashionable portrait painters in Britain. This unusual early painting is thought to depict him and his wife (dressed in blue and yellow on the left), and their friends the Walkers, about to enjoy a leisurely boat trip ⚓️

It was probably inspired by the ‘party of pleasure...made with some friends to Bowness and the island on Windermere lake’, that his wife remembered, and is reminiscent of the popular fête galantes of the French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721).

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🖼️ — George Romney (1734–1802), ‘The Boating Party’, c. 1758–62, oil on canvas, on loan from a Private Collection.

New hire opportunity at Gainsborough’s House ✨Are you looking for a prominent town centre location for your creative ent...
15/05/2026

New hire opportunity at Gainsborough’s House ✨

Are you looking for a prominent town centre location for your creative enterprise or retail pop-up? 🤔

We’re inviting local artists, organisers and small businesses to submit proposals for our former shop space on Gainsborough Street, now available for new concessions. 

Please see our website homepage for the full creative brief and information on how to submit. We appreciate any and all support in sharing this message far and wide with your networks!

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May half-term sorted ✅Bring your family along for Tom's Tuesday on 26 May for a fun-filled creative session building our...
15/05/2026

May half-term sorted ✅

Bring your family along for Tom's Tuesday on 26 May for a fun-filled creative session building our own 'Tiny Town' inspired by Gainsborough's House and its surroundings! 🏡

Spaces for 20 children
Family drop-in sessions
£5 per child with up to two accompanying adults
Recommended age from 3–10 years
All children must be accompanied by an adult

Book your space and find out more here: https://gainsborough.org/event/toms-tuesday-toms-tiny-town-26-may/

Gainsborough graphic by

Inside ‘Inventing Landscape’ 🌿Today, we’re in the heart of ‘Gainsborough, Turner & Constable’s: Inventing Landscape’, to...
13/05/2026

Inside ‘Inventing Landscape’ 🌿

Today, we’re in the heart of ‘Gainsborough, Turner & Constable’s: Inventing Landscape’, to look at a centrepiece of the collection, and the exhibition: ‘Peasants Going to Market’ 🐴

This drawing is part of an innovative series of rural migration scenes from the early 1770s, in which the figures are the focus of the landscapes. Around the same time, Gainsborough was also experimenting with drawing ✍️

Here, like a Renaissance chiaroscuro drawing or woodcut, he has used tonal contrasts to create a striking, depth-filled image. The composition and dramatic use of light appear to derive from Rembrandt’s etching ‘The Flight into Egypt’ (1651).

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🖼️ — Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), ‘Peasants Going to Market’, c. 1770–74, Chalk with wash and bodycolour on paper, Gainsborough’s House, Collection Number: 1993.001

From Sudbury to Snowdonia 🏔️Today, we’re joining David Dawson inside ‘Land, Sky, Light’, to discuss his eye-catching oil...
07/05/2026

From Sudbury to Snowdonia 🏔️

Today, we’re joining David Dawson inside ‘Land, Sky, Light’, to discuss his eye-catching oil on canvas: ‘The Flood’.

Using a photograph for reference, Dawson depicts a beautiful sunset over the Porthmadog Estuary, an area close to home and heart 💫

From the tidal nature of the estuary, to a fleeting shared moment with a buzzard, ‘The Flood’ represents how the smallest interaction with nature can become impossible to forget, and change the nature of the work itself 🪶

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🖼️ — David Dawson (b. 1960) ‘The Flood’, Oil on canvas, 2026, © courtesy the artist.

A portal into the past and future 🔮Today, we step into the Historic House, and inside Kate Giles’ exhibition: ‘Remember ...
04/05/2026

A portal into the past and future 🔮

Today, we step into the Historic House, and inside Kate Giles’ exhibition: ‘Remember Tomorrow’, responding in large part to Constable’s ‘The Leaping Horse’ 🐎

Giles works from the familiar landscape of West Acre, exploring distance through volume, changes in scale, and the activity of paint in her brushwork 🖌️

Her work, much like the exhibition’s title, is inspired by the past, but directly influenced by the present, to look forward into the future.

Kate Giles’ ‘Remember Tomorrow’, is the twin exhibition to the upcoming ‘Solid Air’ exhibition, from May 30 — June 28, at the 2026 Aldeburgh Exhibition Festival.

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Images ©️ Jackie Mellor — 2026.

Address

46-47 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury
Suffolk
CO102EU

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 4:30pm
Thursday 10am - 4:30pm
Friday 10am - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am - 4:30pm
Sunday 10am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+441787372958

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