Person    | Male  Born 30/3/1853  Died 29/7/1890

Vincent van Gogh

Categories: Art, Seriously Famous

Countries: France, Netherlands

Vincent came to London in June 1873 aged 20 as an art dealer, in the firm Goupil. He was in England for two and a half years during which he had two short periods working in the Paris branch. Goupils were in Southampton Street and then the nearby Bedford Street, both off the Strand. He was not good with the customers and was too open with his opinions of the art so in Spring 1876 he was sacked.

When he first arrived in England he very quickly found lodgings in Hackford Road, Brixton. His letters reveal that he walked a lot in London and would walk daily from home to his work, crossing Westminster Bridge twice a day, in a top hat, the whole journey being done in a very fast 45 minutes. The view from this bridge prompted him to write about how he loved London.

He fell in love with his landlady's daughter but she rejected him and married another lodger. It was while he was in London that he started drawing, although at that time he had no stated ambition to become an artist. It was also while here that he gave his first sermon, at the Richmond Methodist Church. His obsession with religion and his depression may have contributed to his dismissal from Goupils. This happened during one of his Paris periods and he decided to return to England. He found a job for a month as a teacher in Ramsgate and then relocated with the school to Isleworth. He then briefly worked in a church but he left England for good at Christmas 1876.

See Making a Mark for a map showing all his London locations.

KentAlive has details of the house in Ramsgate where van Gogh stayed, aged 23.

Born in the southern Netherlands. Committed suicide in Saint-Rémy, in the South of France.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Vincent van Gogh

Commemorated ati

Vincent van Gogh - SW9

Vincent van Gogh, 1853 - 1890, painter, lived here 1873 - 1874. Greater Londo...

Read More

Other Subjects

Arthur Hughes

Arthur Hughes

Born at (probably) 7 Dover Street, Westminster. Painter, who although not making any appearance in the Pre-Raphaelites’ journal, was certainly part of their social circle. He befriended the fanta...

Person, Art

1 memorial
Sir Joshua Reynolds

Sir Joshua Reynolds

Born in Plympton, Devonshire. Came to London in 1753. As a student of Italian art, his work became increasingly classical under the influence of the Bolognese school. In 1768 he was elected the fir...

Person, Art

15 memorials
John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent

Born Florence, Italy. Prolific American painter, specializing in portraits. After 1910 he turned his attention to painting murals and watercolours of Alpine and Italian landscapes. Died Tite Street.

Person, Art, Seriously Famous, Italy, USA

3 memorials
B. P. Arnold

B. P. Arnold

Bernard Philip Arnold M.M., was born on 30 May 1893 in Birmingham, Warwickshire. He was one of the five children of Edward Alexander Arnold (1860-1908) and Osburga Arnold née Smallwood (1856-1936)....

Person, Art, Sculpture

8 memorials
Ronzo
1 memorial

Previously viewed

Corporation of the City of London

Corporation of the City of London

The municipal governing body of the City of London. Officially the 'Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London'. In 2006 the name was changed from just 'Corporation of London' to disti...

Group, Commerce, Politics & Administration

185 memorials
Falklands War

Falklands War

Died: 649 Argentinians, 255 British, 3 civilian Falkland Islanders. 

Event, Armed Forces, Tragedy, Argentina

6 memorials