A once in a generation opportunity to see artistic treasures from one of London’s most famous houses.
In an unprecedented collaboration with English Heritage, Gainsborough’s House is delighted to announce that in 2025 it will display a selection of works on loan from the world class Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood, London.
The exhibition in Sudbury, Suffolk, will showcase nearly 30 eighteenth-century masterpieces by British and French artists such as Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88), Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), George Romney (1734-1802), Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695-1736) and François Boucher (1703-70).
Masterpieces from Kenwood aims to promote a greater understanding and engagement with historic British art and to place Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88) in the context of his contemporaries, both in Britain and France. Six of Kenwood’s Gainsboroughs will be on display in Sudbury, including two of his most iconic paintings, Mary, Countess Howe (c. 1764) and Lady Brisco (c. 1776).
The exhibition will also explore how one of the wealthiest collectors in early 20th-century Britain, Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847-1927), was fascinated by art of the 18th century, particularly society beauties, and assembled a truly impressive collection which he bequeathed to the nation - together with Kenwood - after his death in 1927. Lord Iveagh had purchased Kenwood and the surrounding estate in 1925 from the 6th Earl of Mansfield, regarding the magnificent Robert Adam-designed house to be the perfect place in which to display the best of his paintings.
It is a rare opportunity to see these works outside London. The Kenwood House paintings, usually on view at Kenwood, are being lent to Gainsborough’s House due to a landmark incoming temporary exhibition, Heiress: Sargent’s American Portraits, at the historic Georgian villa.
An extensive programme of events and activities will accompany the exhibition.
Emma Boyd, Gainsborough’s House, Keeper of Art and Place: “The exhibition is a once in a generation opportunity to see these resplendent masterpieces up close in a contemporary gallery setting.”
Masterpieces from Kenwood: The Splendour of British and French Painting
3 May – 19 October 2025
Gainsborough's House, 46 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2EU
Opening times: Monday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm
Further Information: Masterpieces from Kenwood: The Splendour of British & French Painting