Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable were two of England’s greatest ever painters, both celebrated for their beautiful depictions of the English landscape. But that’s not all they have in common: they were also both from Suffolk, and it was the splendour of the Suffolk countryside that inspired these two painters more than anything else. So influential was the Stour Valley on Constable’s work that the area is now often known as Constable Country. These landscapes, Constable said, “made me a painter, and I am grateful.”
Tucked on the south-east coast of England, Suffolk is blessed with a huge variety of landscapes, from sandy beaches and coastal heathland to wetland nature reserves and open fields. But Suffolk is also well-known for its beautiful expanses of arable farmland. Agriculture has always been central to the Suffolk economy, so it’s no surprise how much of the land is devoted to crops – a patchwork of lush fields spliced with hedgerows and woodland copses, captured here on this stunning tea towel.
