Van Gogh & The Village

Ahead of a Tate exhibition exploring Van Gogh’s links with Britain, India Paine charts a little known fact – the artist’s sister lived in Welwyn and Vincent walked 100 miles to visit.

March 2019 will see the opening of a major exhibition at Tate Britain, bringing together the largest group of Van Gogh paintings shown in the UK for nearly a decade. Van Gogh and Britain will explore the links between the Dutch-born painter and this country and how it prompted him to discover new avenues in life and art.

If you didn’t know Vincent spent time in England, you will be more surprised that the Hertfordshire village of Welwyn plays a role in that story.

In 1873, aged 20, Vincent arrived in London from Holland. A junior clerk, he was transferred to the London offices of Hague based international art dealer Goupil and Cie (where his uncle was a partner in the firm). As with much of his life, it is through Vincent’s letters to his brother Theo that we learn of his impressions, namely that he thoroughly enjoyed the English way of life and the city.

He found lodgings in a suburban boarding house and began to explore the city and its surroundings, falling in love with the countryside and parks and walking for miles to explore them. He wrote to Theo:

The countryside here is magnificent, completely different from Holland or Belgium. Everywhere one sees splendid parks with tall trees and shrubs, where one is allowed to walk. (June 13, 1873).

Alex Farquharson, director of Tate Britain says the impact of this new country was profound on the artist: ‘His stay in Britain changed his vision of the world and himself, encouraging him to become an artist.’