Tate's 1926 Van Gogh Loans: A Centenary Look at the 'Modern Foreign' Galleries
In June 1926, the Tate Gallery in London inaugurated its inaugural 'modern foreign' art rooms, with King George V and Queen Mary in attendance. The exhibition showcased more than 250 works on loan, including five pieces by Vincent van Gogh, which were subsequently renumbered and renamed. Notable lenders included Elizabeth Workman, who replaced 'The Trinquetaille Bridge' with 'Oleanders', and Esther Sutro, who contributed 'Café at Arles'. Herbert Coleman provided 'Village at Arles', later renamed 'Stairway at Auvers'. A drawing by Frank Wilson has since gone missing, and James Murray lent a counterfeit Van Gogh. In the years that followed, Tate acquired numerous Van Goghs, which are now part of the collections at Tate Britain and Tate Modern.
Key facts
- Tate Gallery opened its 'modern foreign' galleries in June 1926 with over 250 loaned works.
- King George V and Queen Mary attended the opening.
- Five Van Goghs were lent by British collectors: Elizabeth Workman, Esther Sutro, Herbert Coleman, Frank Wilson, and James Murray.
- The Van Goghs have been redated and retitled; e.g., 'Les Lauriers rose' is now 'Oleanders' (August 1888).
- A fake Van Gogh, 'Still Life with Daisies and Poppies', was lent by James Murray and later exposed as a forgery from the Wacker Gallery.
- Tate acquired four Van Goghs in the 1920s with Samuel Courtauld's funding, later transferred to the National Gallery in 1961.
- Frank Stoop bequeathed 'Farms near Auvers' and three works on paper to Tate in 1933.
- The room that housed the Van Goghs is now Tate Britain's room 4, displaying British paintings from 1760 to 1815.
Entities
Artists
- Vincent van Gogh
- John Lavery
- J.M.W. Turner
- Elizabeth Workman
- Esther Sutro
- Alfred Sutro
- Herbert Coleman
- Frank Wilson
- James Murray
- Laurence Philipps
- Frank Stoop
- Samuel Courtauld
- Henry Tate
- Joseph Duveen
- John Loeb
- Anna Clark
Institutions
- Tate Gallery
- Tate Britain
- Tate Modern
- National Gallery, London
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Saint Louis Art Museum
- Christie's
- Wacker Gallery
- Picton Castle Trust
- National Galleries of Scotland
- Compton Verney
- Simon C. Dickinson Ltd
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York
- United States
- Saint Louis
- Manchester
- Aberdeen
- Picton Castle
- Pembrokeshire
- Wales
- Berlin
- Germany
- Arles
- France
- Auvers-sur-Oise
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
- Trafalgar Square
- Bankside
- Warwickshire
- Edinburgh
- Scotland
- Millbank