• Gainsborough’s House at First Light Festival 2025

    First Light Festival South Beach, Lowestoft, United Kingdom

    Our Nomadic Camera Obscura will be visiting First Light Festival on 21–22 June 2025! This festival and event are free however some activities are bookable. About First Light First Light marks the first sunrise of midsummer on the UK’s most easterly shores with a celebratory weekend of unique performances and events under the solstice sun....

  • Helaine Blumenfeld in Conversation with Calvin Winner

    45 minute talk with 15 minutes for questions Join us for an exclusive, intimate talk featuring renowned artist Helaine Blumenfeld OBE and our Executive Director, Calvin Winner. During this conversation, Helaine will share insights into her creative process—Blumenfeld, a master carver working in marble and wood, is celebrated for her innovative approach to sculpture, creating...

  • Life Drawing with Sue Marsdon – 5 July 2025

    Join Sue Marsdon with the life drawing group on the first Saturday of every month. Enjoy a full day of life drawing at Gainsborough's House with lots of different poses throughout the day. While Sue will suggest some poses and techniques, this session is untutored, and therefore best suited to those with some drawing experience....

  • Fashion in Painting: Reading the Detail

    Join us for an illuminating talk with jewellery designer and historian Andrew Prince, exploring the connection between fashion and painting. Throughout the talk Andrew will reveal how clothing, accessories, and embellishments in historical portraits offer insights into social status, wealth, identity, and political allegiance. With his deep knowledge of historical fashion, Andrew will decode often-overlooked...

  • Tom’s Tuesday: Concertina Landscapes

    Join us for creative fun inspired by our galleries & garden! For our first session, we will be making folded concertina booklets recording the environment we experience in our garden and galleries. Each participant will make three booklets that open out to show their experience of the landscape during the session.  Browse all our Tom's...

  • Tom’s Tuesday: Monoprint Portraits

    Be inspired by Thomas Gainsborough's fancy portraits! We will begin this session in our galleries with some interactive activities in response to our portrait collection. After selecting your favourite portraits, we will then make our own monoprint versions using ink. Browse all our Tom's Tuesday Summer Holiday Programme 2025 sessions: 22 July – Concertina Landscapes...

  • Life Drawing with Sue Marsdon – 2 August 2025

    Join Sue Marsdon with the life drawing group on the first Saturday of every month. Enjoy a full day of life drawing at Gainsborough's House with lots of different poses throughout the day. While Sue will suggest some poses and techniques, this session is untutored, and therefore best suited to those with some drawing experience....

  • Tom’s Tuesday: Cyanotype & our pop-up Camera Obscura

    Explore nature in the garden with printmaking and light... Our nomadic Camera Obscura will be in our garden all summer holiday, in this session you’ll get a chance to make art in response to what you see through the lens. We’ll also be making cyanotypes (weather permitting! ☀️) for further exploration of the photographic process....

  • Tom’s Tuesday: Paper marbling & book binding

    Let's get creative with paper and paint! During this session, we will be creating vibrant, patterned marbled paper using traditional techniques. You will then be able to transform your paper into a small book for you to take home with you. Browse all our Tom's Tuesday Summer Holiday Programme 2025 sessions: 22 July – Concertina...

  • Tom’s Tuesday: String Prints

    Come together, we're getting expressive with string! The humble piece of string will become our opportunity for expression, as we make string prints inspired by the local landscape that Gainsborough loved. Browse all our Tom's Tuesday Summer Holiday Programme 2025 sessions: 22 July – Concertina Landscapes 29 July – Monoprint Portraits inspired by Gainsborough 5...

  • Tom’s Tuesday: Textile Printing

    Our fabrics need sprucing up! Can you help? As our Tom's Tuesday summer finale, we will be taking inspiration from our Masterpieces from Kenwood exhibition by designing our own block-printed fabrics. This session will begin with a visit to the exhibition to see the luscious fabrics worn by the figures in the paintings. Browse all...

  • Life Drawing with Sue Marsdon – 6 September 2025

    Join Sue Marsdon with the life drawing group on the first Saturday of every month. Enjoy a full day of life drawing at Gainsborough's House with lots of different poses throughout the day. While Sue will suggest some poses and techniques, this session is untutored, and therefore best suited to those with some drawing experience....