Adventures with Van Gogh

Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper's long-standing correspondent and expert on the Dutch painter. Published on Fridays, stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist, to scholarly pieces based on meticulous investigations and discoveries.  © Martin Bailey

Tacita Dean’s ancestors brought a Van Gogh painting to England in 1896—now she wants to track it down

The UK artist is on the hunt for the Parisian restaurant scene, now with a secretive Texan collector

a blog by Martin Bailey

Great lovers of Van Gogh: Swiss couple's private collection goes on show in Vienna

The Albertina mounts a display of the Hahnlosers' relatively unknown treasures

a blog by Martin Bailey

A Van Gogh and a Monet: you win one and lose another

The Dutchman’s newly attributed Oslo self-portrait is unveiled in an Amsterdam exhibition, while the Frenchman’s bohemian portrait suffers a downgrading

a blog by Martin Bailey

Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh in 1950s film Lust for Life: a look at the biopic and the myths it made

The Hollywood star, who died last week aged 103, became famous for his portrayal of the "tortured artist"

a blog by Martin Bailey

The €15m Van Gogh which was once sold in a farmyard auction for just £4

Now heading to Maastricht, the painting of a peasant cottage will be a highlight of the Tefaf fair

a blog by Martin Bailey

Wooing Dutch visitors and an impending birthday: the challenges facing Van Gogh Museum's new director

Emilie Gordenker, from the Mauritshuis, will move from the Golden Age to the birth of Modernism when she takes up her role next week

a blog by Martin Bailey

Nine Van Gogh 'fakes' that have emerged as the real thing

The Oslo self-portrait and other paintings have been authenticated by the artist’s museum

a blog by Martin Bailey

Is a Van Gogh self-portrait hidden in a London attic?


An intriguing letter suggests that Vincent made a very unusual sale to England

a blog by Martin Bailey

Want to buy a Van Gogh? Sotheby’s has four works with (relatively) modest estimates

Unseen for 25 years, they all come from a very private American collector

a blog by Martin Bailey

From surprising sales to emotional discoveries: the Van Gogh stories of 2019

The top exhibitions, books and auction news this year—plus the astonishing tale of the gun

a blog by Martin Bailey

Two Van Goghs sold from the recovered hoard of an Italian fraudster

One painting was hidden in a Parma cellar, leading to the discovery of the Tanzi Treasure

a blog by Martin Bailey

Ten myths about Vincent van Gogh

Why stories—from the mutilated ear to the eventual suicide—can distort our view of the art

a blog by Martin Bailey

A good catch: The Mackerels now looks set to be authenticated as a genuine Van Gogh

The still life in Switzerland’s Reinhart collection was dismissed as a forgery

a blog by Martin Bailey

For sale: two Van Gogh paintings come up at Sotheby’s New York next week

One of the works was looted by the Nazis from Jewish collector Jacques Goudstikker, but is now being sold by his heir after restitution

a blog by Martin Bailey

Two Van Gogh exhibitions in a single week

After the Frankfurt show opens, another on still lifes comes to Potsdam—17 years after Germany’s last presentation on the artist

a blog by Martin Bailey

Van Gogh and Germany: Frankfurt mounts best show on the artist in recent years

Städel Museum tells the story of Germany's love affair with the painter, which ended in tragedy with Hitler’s rise to power

a blog by Martin Bailey

Methodical, well read and—above all—human: what we learn from the myth-busting edition of Van Gogh’s letters

A decade after the publication of Vincent's trove of correspondence, here is how the remarkable project has contributed to scholarship on his art

a blog by Martin Bailey

Arles to Tokyo: Van Gogh exhibitions in 2020 that Vincent aficionados won't want to miss

Detroit’s Van Gogh in America will be the highlight, with more major shows in Amsterdam, Padua, Santa Barbara and Columbus

a blog by Martin Bailey

The artist whom Van Gogh most admired—and whose work fetched record prices

An exhibition on Millet opens in Amsterdam with the rare loan of The Angelus

a blog by Martin Bailey

Uncovered: Van Gogh's first art teacher

First photo discovered of Anna Birnie, of Scottish descent, who served as a young governess for eight-year-old Vincent

a blog by Martin Bailey

Not just a tortured soul: new show shines light on Van Gogh's humour and friendships

Den Bosch exhibition features rarely exhibited documents revealing the artist's personal relationships

a blog by Martin Bailey

New discoveries: Paul Signac painted watercolours of Van Gogh’s asylum

Signac, who offered to fight a duel over the Sunflowers, pays homage to his Dutch friend

a blog by Martin Bailey

Van Gogh's suicide: Ten reasons why the murder story is a myth

All the evidence suggests it was the artist who fired the fatal shot

How a concierge restored 200 Van Gogh paintings, including the Sunflowers

The astonishing tale of Jan Traas, a caretaker and intern conservator in the 1920s, who later worked on Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring

A once-in-a-lifetime look behind Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

The Van Gogh Museum’s masterpiece has suffered from a 1960s restoration which involved the insertion of three long metal bolts

Van Gogh’s astonishing week in the asylum, 130 years ago—when he painted an olive grove and a starry night

By coincidence, both pictures ended up at New York’s MoMA, which is now planning a redisplay

Gauguin blames Van Gogh over ear incident

Little known letter says he feared “a fatal and tragic accident” in the Yellow House