Recent Exhibitions

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"Your pictures at the exhibition are having a lot of success. The other day Diaz stopped me in the street and said, Give your brother my compliments and tell him that his pictures are highly remarkable. Monet said that your pictures were the best of all in the exhibition." Theo van Gogh Letter T32 23 April 1890 "A multitude of superb studies came to light after [artist Guillaume Régamey] died--there has been an exhibition of them--hardly anybody knew of their existence during his lifetime. A fine thing, eh?" Vincent van Gogh Letter R30 c. 5 March 1883

• The Art Gallery of Hamilton in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada held two Van Gogh exhibitions: Fellow Artists through the Eyes of Van Gogh looked at some of the artists that Van Gogh admired. Included were works by Pissarro, Renoir, Dürer, Rembrandt and others. Each of the twenty-one works on display were accompanied by quotes from Van Gogh about each artist.

  At the same time, another Van Gogh exhibition took place. Great Masters Series: Vincent van Gogh included five works by Van Gogh, the most prominent being Pine Trees with Figure in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital, on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Each of the works focused on a different period in Van Gogh's career, from one of his earliest still lifes to an etching that he produced shortly before his death.

  Both exhibitions ran from 28 May to 23 September 2006.

• Compton Verney in Warwickshire, England hosted a major exhibition focusing on British collectors of Vincent van Gogh's works. Van Gogh and Britain: Pioneer Collectors was curated by Martin Bailey, a London-based Van Gogh specialist and author. The exhibition included twenty-five paintings, drawings and lithographs as well as archival material such as catalogues from the earliest Van Gogh exhibitions in Great Britain, photographs and correspondence relating to the works. It ran from 31 March to 18 June 2006 (press preview 30 March 2006). The exhibition then moved to the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh from 7 July to 24 September 2006.

  A complete list of this Van Gogh exhibition is now available.

• In Brescia, Italy the Museo di Santa Giulia hosted Gauguin-Van Gogh: The Adventure of the New Color. 150 art works by the two masters were featured in twelve sections. Many of the works had never before been on display in Italy. From 22 October 2005 to 19 March 2006 (extended one week to 26 March 2006).

  

• One of the biggest exhibitions ever to focus specifically on Van Gogh's drawings opened at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This exhibition, entitled Van Gogh Draftsman: The Masterpieces was co-curated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Van Gogh Museum. The selection included 119 of Van Gogh's works. The drawings in this exhibition offered extraordinary insight into Van Gogh's ongoing development as an artist. In addition, their fragility and sensitivity to light means that they're rarely on public display which made this exhibition that much more noteworthy. Van Gogh Draftsman ran from 2 July to 18 September 2005 at the Van Gogh Museum and then moved on to New York's Metropolitan Museum under the title Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings where it ran from 18 October to 31 December 2005.

  In addition, both the Van Gogh Museum as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art included some supplementary drawings in order to give a broader context for appreciating the artist's triumphs as a draftsman.

  A complete list of the Van Gogh drawings exhibition is now available.

• The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presented The Splendid Palette: Painting in France from Monet to Bonnard. Four Van Gogh paintings were included in this exhibition: Landscape with Wheat Sheaves and Rising Moon, Olive Grove with Two Olive Pickers, Pine Trees with Figure in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital and The Road Menders. From 22 September 2004 to 8 January 2005.

• Four Van Gogh paintings were on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in the exhibition Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre (Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Cafe du Tambourin, Montmartre, Still Life with Absinthe and Street Scene in Montmartre: Le Moulin a Poivre). From 20 March to 12 June 2005. The exhibition then moved on to the Art Institute of Chicago (16 July to 10 October 2005).

• Thirty-six works (thirty-one paintings, two drawings and two watercolours) were on tour in Japan. Van Gogh in Context opened at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (23 March to 22 May 2005) and then moved on to the National Museum of Modern Art in Osaka (31 May to 18 July 2005) and finally the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Nagoya (26 July to 25 September).

• In the Netherlands, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague hosted The Hague School and Young Van Gogh. This exhibition covered Van Gogh's earlier works as well as the various artists that influenced his evolving style. 53 of Van Gogh's works were on display in this exhibition which ran from 2 February to 16 May 2005.

• The High Museum in Atlanta presented the exhibition From Van Gogh to Mondrian: Modern Art from the Kröller-Müller Museum. This exhibition, the first in North America to feature works from the collection of the Netherland's Kröller-Müller Museum, included twelve Van Gogh paintings (The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum and Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin among them) and ten Van Gogh drawings. Other artists represented in the exhibition are Mondrian, Picasso, Seurat and others. From 19 October 2004 to 16 January 2005.

• In Brussels, Belgium, the Stadhuis van Brussel presented The School of The Hague and the Young Van Gogh. Twelve Van Gogh works--paintings, drawings and watercolours, all on loan from the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague--were on display from 13 October 2004 to 16 January 2005.

• In Japan, three museums hosted Van Gogh, Millet and the Barbizon Artists. The exhibition focused on the influence of Jean-François Millet on Van Gogh's work as well as his fellow artists who lived and worked in the farming community of Barbizon area of France. Hiroo Yasui, curator of the Iwate Museum of Art, comments: "Though there were some exhibitions held during the recent years dealing with the relationship of works between Millet and Van Gogh, we extend this subject further and focus on the influence of many other Barbizon artists’ works on Van Gogh through pastoral and farming subjects. Presenting their 109 (18 Van Gogh's, 39 Millet's and 52 Barbizon artists') works we try to demonstrate their deep admiration for nature and pastoral life." In Morioka special lectures were given by the staff of the Iwate as well as by Sjraar van Heugten, Head of Collections at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

  Locations:

  • Nagoya City Art Museum (Nagoya): 17 April - 13 June 2004
  • Iwate Museum of Art (Morioka): 22 June - 15 August 2004
  • Hiroshima Museum of Art (Hiroshima): 24 August - 17 October 2004

• The Seattle Art Museum presented From Van Gogh to Mondrian: Modern Art from the Kröller-Müller Museum from 29 May to 12 September 2004. 21 Van Gogh paintings and drawings were on display. The exhibition then moved on to the High Museum.

• The Van Gogh Museum hosted Van Gogh and the Sea from 18 June to 26 September 2004. This show ran concurrently with the Van Gogh Museum's major exhibition of Edouard Manet's sea paintings. The exhibition included six Van Gogh paintings, twelve drawings, several letters as well as magazine clippings and Japanese prints from Vincent van Gogh's own personal collection.

• The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts hosted Van Gogh and Gauguin: An Artistic Dialogue in the South of France. The show, which ran from 26 March-13 June 2004, included paintings by both of the artists. Six Van Gogh works are on display including Crab on Its Back, Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin and Self-Portrait.

• The Frist Center for Visual Arts in Nashville hosted From El Greco to Picasso: European Masterworks from The Phillips Collection. The exhibition included works by Cézanne, Monet, Picasso and three paintings by Van Gogh: The Road Menders, Wheat Field at Auvers with White House and Entrance to the Public Park in Arles. From 31 January to 16 May 2004.

• As part of the National Book Week celebrations, the Van Gogh Museum presented the exhibition Vincent's Bookcase from 10 March to 27 June 2004. The exhibition included a selection of the books that Van Gogh read (including works by Zola, Michelet and Shakespeare) as well as paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in which Van Gogh featured books (Still Life with Bible and Still Life: French Novels).

  (For information about Van Gogh's depiction of books in his artworks, see "Vincent's Library" in the Visitor Submissions section.)

• Two major exhibitions in Italy currently included Van Gogh works:
  • In Belluno, the Palazzo Crepadona hosted From Van Gogh to Picasso from 10 October 2003 - 7 March 2004. Two Van Gogh drawings were included (Joseph Roulin, Three-Quarter-Length and Drawbridge with Lady with Parasol).

  • The Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso presented The Gold and the Blue: The Colours of the South. This exhibition included works by Gauguin, Cézanne, Monet as well as eleven Van Gogh pieces. From 11 October 2003 to 7 March 2004.

• In the Netherlands, Vincent van Gogh: Lost and Found ran in Breda's Museum from 22 November 2003 to 15 February 2004. The exhibition focused on research endeavours involving lost works possibly attributed to Van Gogh from the artist's early period. Ongoing updates can be found at www.150Xvincent.com.

• The Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, The Netherlands launched a major exhibition dedicated to the founder of the museum, Helene Kröller-Müller: Vincent and Helene: The Significance of Van Gogh in the Kröller-Müller Collection. From 14 February 2003 - 4 January 2004.

• In Amsterdam's Museum Amstelkring the exhibition Vincent van Gogh on Amsterdam focused on Van Gogh's time in the Dutch capital. The exhibition followed in Van Gogh's footsteps through photographs and quotations from the artist's letters. For more details, see the press release. From 12 July to 12 October 2003.

• The Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted Old Masters, Impressionists, and Moderns: French Masterworks from the State Pushkin Museum from 27 July - 13 October 2003. Two Van Gogh works were included in the exhibit: Prisoners Exercising (after Doré) and Portrait of Doctor Felix Rey.

• The Retretti Art Centre in Punkaharju, Finland presented The Hague School and Van Gogh. This exhibition, in the scenic Nordic region, featured fifteen early paintings and drawings by Van Gogh on loan from The Hague's Gemeentemuseum. From 28 May - 24 August 2003.

• After the successful run of The Poppy Field and the Artist's Debate at the Kunsthalle Bremen, the Toledo Museum of Art presented the follow-up Van Gogh: Fields. This exhibition included 22 Van Gogh paintings and five rarely seen drawings and watercolours. Toledo was the only North American venue for this exhibition. From 23 February - 18 May 2003.

• Boston's Museum of Fine Arts presented From Van Gogh to Corot: French Landscape from 15 December 2002 to 27 April 2003.

• The Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso presented L'Impressionismo e l'età di van Gogh from 9 November 2002 - 30 March 2003. Subdivided into five sections, a total of 162 paintings, sculptures and works on paper were brought to Treviso from all five continents to testify to the enormous riches that sprang out of the revolution of a new art. The exhibition included a large number of masterpieces, commencing with what has become one of the icons of modern art, Van Gogh’s unforgettable image of the Sower, which was just one of forty-five by the great Dutch artist that can be seen at the Casa dei Carraresi.

  Suddivise in cinque sezioni, sono addirittura 162, tra dipinti, sculture e opere su carta, le opere convocate da tutti i cinque continenti a Treviso per testimoniare la ricchezza assoluta determinata dalla rivoluzione di un’arte nuova. Moltissimi sono i capolavori che la mostra allinea, a cominciare da quella che ? una delle icone di tutta l’arte moderna, l’immagine indimenticabile del Seminatore di Van Gogh, che ? una delle 45 del grande maestro olandese che si potranno ammirare in Casa dei Carraresi.

• The Sower -- Vincent van Gogh at Villa Flora in Winterthur, Switzerland ran from 14 June 2002 to 30 March 2003 (the 150th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh's birth). This exhibition was particularly exciting because it offers visitors the chance to view several Van Gogh works from private collections--some on public display for the first time in more than 50 years.

• In Germany, the Kunsthalle Bremen hosted The Poppy Field and the Artist's Debate. More than 40 of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings were represented. The exhibit ran from 19 October 2002 to 26 January 2003.

• The Van Gogh Museum presented Van Gogh Down to the Micrometer: A Presentation of Technical Research into Paintings by Van Gogh. This exhibit explored Van Gogh's works from a technical perspective and runs from 3 May 2002 - 2 February 2003.

• At the Van Gogh Museum was a show dedicated to Van Gogh's Letters: The Necessity of Writing: The Letters of Vincent van Gogh. On display was a selection of Van Gogh's letters as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the vast amount of research currently underway at the Van Gogh Museum for the new edition of Van Gogh's complete letters. From 28 June - 6 October 2002.

• The largest Van Gogh exhibition in Asia in 25 years opened at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan. Vincent & Theo van Gogh included 47 works from museums and private collections all over the world. The show ran from 5 July - 25 August 2002 and then moved to the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe, Japan (7 September - 4 November 2002).

• "Van Gogh and the Labors of the Field" ran at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This small exhibit included four paintings from the Van Gogh Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Van Gogh work Enclosed Wheat Field with Peasant. From 15 January to 9 June 2002.

• In Boston the Museum of Fine Arts hosted Impressionist Still Life from 17 February - 9 June 2002.

• The Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg presents Van Gogh: The Drawings from Paris in which 87 drawings from the Van Gogh Museum are exhibited. From 22 March - 9 June 2002.

• The much anticipated exhibition Van Gogh and Gauguin: The "Studio of the South" closed on 2 June 2002 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam after a tremendously successful run. 739,117 people visited the show over the course of four months. This exhibition, which focused on the art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, explored their tumultuous relationship in the short time they lived and worked together in the south of France.

• The Van Gogh Museum presented Vincent van Gogh Drawings: Antwerp and Paris, 1885-1888 from 28 September 2001 to 6 January 2002. Because Van Gogh's drawings are so delicate and sensitive to light they're rarely on display which makes this exhibit was particularly exciting. More than 120 drawings were shown from Van Gogh's Antwerp and Paris period. This exhibit also coincided with the publication of the most recent volume in the Van Gogh Museum's beautiful new series of catalogues of the Museum's collection: Vincent Van Gogh Drawings: Antwerp and Paris, 1885-1888.

• The popular show "Monet, Renoir, and the Impressionist Landscape" ran at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. Two Van Gogh works were on display: Field with Ploughman and Mill and Houses in Auvers. From 22 January to 14 April 2002.

• The Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida hosted Homage to Van Gogh: International Artists Pay Tribute to a Legend. This exhibit, which didn't include any paintings by Van Gogh himself, included seventy works by artists such as David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and others. These works, which were specifically influenced by Van Gogh's Arles period, showed how Van Gogh's presence has impacted artists over the course of more than a century. From 8 November to 24 December 2001.

• The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts was the only North American venue for the exhibit Impressionism: Painting Quickly in France. The show ran from 17 June - 9 September 2001 and included works by Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir.

• The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia presented Vincent van Gogh in Paris: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum from 13 April - 15 July 2001. This show, in the museum's Impressionist Skylight Gallery, included the Van Gogh paintings: Wheat Field with a Lark, Basket of Sprouting Bulbs and Woman Sitting by a Cradle.

• Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard ran at the St. Louis Art Museum from 17 February - 13 May 2001. This show focused on Van Gogh and his contemporaries during that pivotal time in Paris in the late 1880s.

• Van Gogh's Postman: The Portraits of Joseph Roulin, a small exhibit displaying seven portraits of Joseph Roulin, ran at the Museum of Modern Art from 1 February - 15 May 2001. For those interested in learning more about the Roulin family and Van Gogh's famous portraits of them, a complete section is available.

• Van Gogh's "Starry Night": Three Masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art, New York took place at Atlanta's High Museum of Art from 2 September - 5 November 2000. In addition to Starry Night, visitors can also see the MoMA's Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin and Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background.

• Vincent van Gogh was devoted to the painting of portraits. Just before moving to Paris he wrote to his sister: "I have always believed that one learns to think by painting portraits." For Van Gogh portraiture was more than just a means to perfect his craft, it was truly a great passion for him. Consequently, the "Van Gogh: Face to Face" exhibit offered a unique opportunity to view more than 65 portraits and self-portraits from museums and collections throughout the world. The show took place at the following locations:
  • Detroit Institute of Arts: 12 March - 4 June 2000

    (Postscript: The "Face to Face" exhibit proved to be a tremendous success for the Detroit Institute of Arts. It attracted more than 315,000 visitors making it the most popular exhibit in the DIA's 115 year history.)

  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: 2 July - 24 September 2000

  • Philadelphia Museum of Art: 22 October 2000 - 14 January 2001

  Visitors can view a list of the works on display (note: this list is specific to the exhibit as it appeared in Detroit. The Boston and Philadelphia venues will be slightly different).

• The Pierre Gianadda Foundation of Martigny, Switzerland hosted a major Van Gogh retrospective beginning June, 2000. This extraordinary event was the first Van Gogh exhibit in Switzerland in 27 years and included 90-100 paintings and drawings--many from private collections and not seen on public display in nearly half a century. The show ran from 21 June to 26 November 2000.

• The exhibition "Impressionism: Paintings Collected by European Museums" will be held at three museums in the United States throughout 1999. A wonderful variety of paintings are included in the show including some by Cézanne, Degas and three works by Vincent van Gogh (Self-portrait with Straw Hat, Portrait of Armand Roulin and Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin [Atlanta only]). The museums and dates are as follows:
  • The High Museum of Art, Atlanta (23 February - 16 May 1999)
  • The Seattle Art Museum (12 June - 29 August 1999)
  • The Denver Art Museum (2 October - 12 December 1999)

• In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art will be the only North American stop for the exhibit "From Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Dr. Gachet". This show, featuring more than 50 paintings and drawings from the collection of Dr. Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, will include works by Van Gogh as well as Pissarro, Guillaumin, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and others. The exhibition runs from 25 May to 15 August 1999 and will then travel to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (from 24 September to 5 December 1999).

• The Musée d'Orsay in Paris is the second stop for the inaugural exhibit of the new wing of the Van Gogh Museum. "Theo Van Gogh: Art Dealer, Collector, Vincent's Brother" focuses on Theo van Gogh. Best known as Vincent's brother, Theo was in his own right a brilliant art dealer and a true visionary--not only regarding his brother's works, but also those of Vincent's contemporaries (such as Gauguin, Pissarro, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec to name a few). The show runs from 29 September 1999 to 9 January 2000.

• In Pittsburgh, the Frick Art and Historical Center hosts "Post-Impressionist Prints: Paris in the 1890s". This show will feature 122 Post-Impressionist prints on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 33 artists will be presented, including works by Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Degas and others. The show runs from 12 November 1999 to 9 January 2000.

• The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa hosts "Van Gogh's Irises", an exhibit of works by both Vincent van Gogh and Honoré Daumier. Many will come to see the famous Irises painting from the Getty Centre, but the other seven Van Gogh works on display also make this exhibit well worth visiting:
  • Irises: (Brentwood, Cal.: Getty Centre). One of Van Gogh's most famous works.
  • The Iris: (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada).
  • Still Life: Vase with Irises: (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art).
  • Meadow in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital: (London: National Gallery).
  • Vase with Zinnias and Other Flowers: (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada).
  • Vase with Zinnias and Geraniums: (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada).
  • Marsh: (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada). An early drawing--very rarely on display.
  • Still Life: Vase with Roses: (Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art).

  From 11 June to 16 September 1999.

• One of the most successful art exhibitions in history, "Van Gogh's Van Goghs: Masterpieces from the Van Gogh Museum", ended its run at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on 16 May 1999. This tour, which began in Washington D.C. late last year was tremendously well received and gave more than a million people (480,000 in Washington and 800,000 in L.A.) the rare opportunity to see so many of Vincent van Gogh's incredible works in person.

  The exhibition was organized during the closure of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. After extensive expansion and renovations the Van Gogh Museum reopened on 24 June 1999. For those who missed the "Van Gogh's Van Goghs" show, I'll provide a permanent cyber-exhibition for anyone interested in viewing the 70 works on display.

• Because of their fragility, Van Gogh's drawings are rarely on display. That's why the exhibit "From Van Os to Van Gogh: 19th-Century Dutch Drawings and Watercolors from the Museum of Boijmans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam" is so exciting. This exhibit runs at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina from 16 January to 21 March 1999. After that it moves on to the Grand Rapids Art Museum from 11 April to 15 August 1999. The five Van Gogh drawings on display are: Sien, Sewing, Half-Figure, Bank of the Rhone at Arles, Peasant Woman, Planting Beets, Landscape with Trees and Barn with Moss-Grown Roof.

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