SUDDABY, Rowland

Rowland Suddaby (1912-1972) was a painter, mainly of landscapes. Born in Kimberworth, Yorkshire, Suddaby studied at Sheffield College of Art from 1926, winning a scholarship there. In 1931 he married and moved to London with few prospects, but spent two years designing for films in Wardour Street before starting to paint full-time. In 1935 had a first one-man show at the Wertheim Gallery, the next year he exhibited with the Redfern Gallery and with it had a series of one-man appearances. After World War II exhibited solo with Leger Galleries, more recent exhibitions including Austin/Desmond Fine Art. Eventually Suddaby settled at Great Cornard, Sudbury, Suffolk, and became associated with scenes of East Anglia. He illustrated the covers of books by the Essex Marshland writer S L Bensusan and was a founder of the Colchester Art Society, with Edward Bawden, John Nash and Cedric Morris among the exhibitors.

Suddaby also did poster work for Shell, designed textiles and prints and participated in the Pilgrim Trust Recording Britain project. During his final years he was curator of Gainsborough’s House, in Sudbury. Suddaby’s work is in many public collections in Britain and abroad, including the Victoria & Albert Museum. His pictures have a spontaneous vitality, a richness of colour, an immediacy which is unmistakeable. Adam Gallery showed a typical selection in 2001.