Rowland Suddaby was born in Kimberworth, Yorkshire, and started work in a steel foundry but attended evening classes at Sheffield College of Art, winning a scholarship there in 1926.
In 1931 he married and moved to London with few prospects but found a job in the burgeoning British film industry working for a film company in Wardour Street where he ornamented the titles for black and white films.
After giving up this job in 1933 to concentrate on painting he moved to Hertfordshire. But influenced by his period of working in films he occasionally worked in pen and wash as if still seeing the world influenced by the black and white film experience.
Two patrons were of importance to Suddaby, Lucy Wertheim and Peggy Guggenheim’s sister, Hazel, who both bought paintings and introduced him to many artists and intellectuals. Wertheim gave Suddaby his first exhibition at her Wertheim Gallery in 1935 which was a success and was later followed by support from Rex Nan Kivell at the Redfern Gallery who exhibited his work from 1936. Between 1938-41 he had three exhibitions including a joint show with Walter Sickert and had work shown in Paris and New York.
At the outbreak of the war he moved to Suffolk where he spent the rest of his life. His work is represented in the Government Art Collection, the V&A Museum and 21 regional public collections.