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. 

Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here.

© 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

An insider’s travel guide to Van Gogh's Arles

Follow in the artist’s footsteps and discover the places that inspired his greatest paintings

Gauguin exhibitions in Ottawa and London will feature tributes to Van Gogh

Tahitian still lifes of sunflowers are surrogate portraits of his Yellow House friend

Van Gogh's correspondence about famed Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta unearthed

Largely overlooked postscript suggests surprise friendship between the Van Gogh brothers and the young Belgian

a blog by Martin Bailey

Virtually unseen Van Gogh painting comes up for sale in New York next week

Christie’s values the Japanese-influenced picture of the asylum garden at $25m

a blog by Martin Bailey

Theo van Gogh is identified in mystery drawing now on show in London

Lucien Pissarro’s sketch in Tate Britain exhibition is the only depiction of the two brothers together

a blog by Martin Bailey

Exclusive: Van Gogh’s prostitute lover committed suicide—just as predicted

My new book recounts the untold tragedy of how Sien Hoornik drowned herself in a Rotterdam canal

a blog by Martin Bailey

Two stolen Van Goghs go back on display after 14-year ordeal at the hands of Italian gangsters

Conservation at the Amsterdam museum has revealed a fake Vincent signature on the genuine seascape

a blog by Martin Bailey

I held the gun that probably killed Van Gogh—and here is its story

The revolver discovered by a farmer in an Auvers field comes up for auction on 19 June

a blog by Martin Bailey

What lies behind the auction of Van Gogh’s gun?

New details on “the most famous weapon in art history”

a blog by Martin Bailey

Mystery of Van Gogh’s love affair in London

Did the Dutch artist fall for his Brixton landlady or her daughter?

Fake no more: poppy painting in US museum is by Van Gogh—and has a surprise under the surface

Still life at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, is authenticated after decades hidden in storage

a blog by Martin Bailey

Discoveries under the floorboards of Van Gogh’s bedroom in Brixton

Mysterious papers were found during the restoration of the south London house in Hackford Road where the Dutchman lodged

The astonishing life of Johan van Gogh: Vincent's great-nephew dies aged 96

A tribute to Theo van Gogh’s grandson, who served in the Dutch secret service

a blog by Martin Bailey

These are the two Van Goghs that David Hockney dreams of hanging in his bedroom

British artist's exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum opens this week

a blog by Martin Bailey

Revealed: Van Gogh’s English friend in Antwerp, Emslie Horniman

Memories of the artist from the son of the founder of London’s Horniman Museum uncovered in archival letters

a blog by Martin Bailey

Former Tate director's hidden tribute to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

James Manson paid homage to the Dutch artist by painting his own bouquet

a blog by Martin Bailey

How Van Gogh's Sunflowers have inspired generations of British artists

Painters from Brangwyn to Nash paid homage to the masterpiece, all illustrated on the Art UK site

a blog by Martin Bailey

San Francisco’s Van Gogh is the real deal

The still life of fruit and chestnuts, until recently dismissed as a fake, was painted in Paris

a blog by Martin Bailey

Amsterdam Sunflowers will never again travel

Conservators are concerned over Van Gogh’s still life, which went to over 80 exhibitions after the war

a blog by Martin Bailey

Who painted the mystery nude in the Van Gogh brothers' collection?

Museum specialist believes he has uncovered the identity of the artist—and his voluptuous muse

a blog by Martin Bailey

Van Gogh’s most important painting leaves Europe for the first time

National Gallery’s Sunflowers heads to Japan where it is likely to be seen by around a million people

a blog by Martin Bailey

The most important Van Gogh discoveries, exhibitions, sales and books of 2018

From the discovery of a Montmartre drawing to a $40m sale at Christie's

a blog by Martin Bailey