Robert N. Sudlow is known for his paintings depicting the Kansas landscape, making it seem alive. Sudlow was born in Holton, Kansas on February 25, 1920, attending the University of Kansas from 1938 to 1942 where he studied drawing and painting under Albert Bloch and Raymond Eastwood. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Sudlow served as a seaplane pilot for three years in the U.S. Navy. He was discharged as a Lieutenant, Senior Grade and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for service in the Western Pacific Theater in World War II.

In 1945, Sudlow was hired as Bloch's teaching assistant at KU. He also married Lillian Gehb that year. In 1947, Sudlow became an instructor in the KU Department of Fine Art and Drawing. For nine months in 1951-1952 he studied in Paris at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière and the Académie André Lhote. He received his Master's degree in Fine Arts from the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1956.

Sudlow would later take other sabbaticals to England, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, and Greece. In 1962, he became an associate professor of drawing and painting at KU and continued teaching until his retirement in 1987 as professor emeritus of art. He was regarded very highly by his students and would take them out into the elements, including wind, freezing temperatures, and rain, to paint the Kansas landscape. He believed that the Kansas landscape was constantly changing so no two paintings of Kansas would ever look the same.

Throughout his career as a faculty member, Sudlow's work was exhibited in the Midwest. After his retirement his work was not only featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S. but also in Eutin, Germany, Lawrence, Kansas's sister city, as a part of a cultural exchange between the two cities. His work is included in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, St. Louis Art Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, Beach Museum of Art and many more. In 1974, Sudlow was selected as the first "Governor's Artist" and in 1997, he was named Kansan of the Year by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. He received many other awards in his lifetime. In 1985, he married Barbara Keeler Wolf. Robert Sudlow died in Lawrence, Kansas on March 25, 2010.