Sudbury is a market town in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, 60 miles (97 km) north-east of London. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 13,063. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government district and part of the South Suffolk constituency.

Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of the second half of the 18th century. He painted quickly, and the works of his maturity are characterised by a light palette and easy strokes. Despite being a prolific portrait painter, Gainsborough gained greater satisfaction from his landscapes. He is credited as the originator of the 18th-century British landscape school. Gainsborough was a founding member of the Royal Academy.