Kirkcudbright lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry. It was the county town of historic Kirkcudbrightshire, positioned at the mouth of the River Dee six miles from the sea.
Kirkcudbrightshire had a long association with the Glasgow art movement through the Glasgow Boys and the famed Scottish Colourists, who based themselves in the area from 1880 to 1910. Many of these creatives moved to the town from Glasgow, leading Kirkcudbright to become known as "the artists’ town".