Last updated: 26 October 2026
Vincent van Gogh is the Dutch painter of Sunflowers, cypresses and starry skies. Here you will find our take on his work, where to see Van Gogh paintings free in the UK, the Sunflowers print and books you can buy, and how his market works.
Our take on Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh painted for less than ten years, and much of his best-known work came in his last two, in Arles and Saint-Rémy. Of his sunflower paintings, he wrote to his brother Theo: “The whole thing will be a symphony in blue and yellow,” as quoted by the National Gallery. “The sunflower is mine,” he once declared.
London is one of the best places to see him. The National Gallery’s Sunflowers hangs in Room 43 with six more of his paintings, and the Courtauld has the Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear at the top of this page, both a short walk apart. He painted the bandage on the right because he worked from a mirror: it was his left ear he cut.
An original Van Gogh is out of reach for almost everyone, with paintings selling for tens of millions. The National Gallery’s made-to-order Sunflowers print, from £25, is the realistic way to live with one.
Vincent van Gogh: the essentials
- Born in Groot Zundert, in the Netherlands, in 1853, the son of a pastor, and died at Auvers-sur-Oise, France, in 1890, according to the National Gallery.
- Travelled to London in 1873, started painting by 1883 and attended the academy in Antwerp in 1885 to 1886.
- Moved to Paris in 1886, where he met Degas, Gauguin and Seurat and lightened his palette, then settled in Arles in 1888.
- Painted seven versions of Sunflowers in 1888 and 1889. Five are on public view, in London, Amsterdam, Munich, Philadelphia and Tokyo.
- After a breakdown in 1889 he went to the asylum at Saint-Rémy, where he painted A Wheatfield, with Cypresses, now in the National Gallery.
- He shot himself in the chest in 1890 and died two days later.
Where to see Van Gogh in the UK
- Free: Sunflowers (1888), Van Gogh’s Chair, A Wheatfield, with Cypresses and four more in Room 43 at the National Gallery, London, plus Head of a Peasant Woman in Room 44.
- The Courtauld: Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889), on display at the Courtauld, Somerset House.
- Scotland and Wales: Olive Trees (1889) and Orchard with Apricot Trees in Blossom, Arles (1888) at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, and Rain – Auvers in the Davies sisters’ collection at National Museum Cardiff.
- Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, National Gallery, London, 14 September 2024 to 19 January 2025. No new UK exhibition of his paintings has been announced.
Where to buy a Van Gogh print
Van Gogh made only one etching, so prints of his work are reproductions. These are the ones we would buy:
- Sunflowers print, from £25: a made-to-order print on paper or canvas from the National Gallery Shop. See our Sunflowers print guide for every size, frame and price.
- Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers, £35: the National Gallery’s 2024 exhibition catalogue in hardback, 256 pages, from the National Gallery Shop.
- The Letters of Vincent van Gogh, £12.99: the Penguin Classics paperback, listed in stock at Waterstones.
Vincent van Gogh prints and editions on CoolCuration
Vincent van Gogh FAQs
Where is Van Gogh’s Sunflowers in London?
In Room 43 at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, alongside six more of his paintings.
Is it free to see Van Gogh at the National Gallery?
The National Gallery’s main collection is free to visit.
Which ear did Van Gogh cut?
His left. The Courtauld self-portrait shows the bandage on the right because he painted it from a mirror.
How many Sunflowers paintings are there?
Seven, painted in 1888 and 1889. Five are on public view, one is in a private collection and one was destroyed in the Second World War.
More from CoolCuration
- Stubbs: Portrait of a Horse review: another National Gallery visit.
- Howard Hodgkin Indian Leaves print: a print by a painter of colour and feeling.
- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
- Best affordable art in the UK: where to start collecting without auction prices.
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Main image: Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, 1889, the Courtauld, London. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. No reliable adult photograph of Van Gogh exists. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Displays and prices last checked: 26 October 2026.
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