Vincent van Gogh painted his Sunflowers to decorate a bedroom. In the summer of 1888, waiting in Arles for his friend Paul Gauguin to come and share his Yellow House, he set out to fill the guest room with pictures of the flower he loved — and produced, in a few days of furious work, some of the most recognised paintings in the world. There isn’t one Sunflowers: there are several, and the story of where each one went is as remarkable as the paintings.
Two series, two cities
Van Gogh first painted sunflowers in Paris in 1887: cut flower heads lying on a table, studied almost like specimens. The famous pictures came the next year in Arles — sunflowers standing in a simple earthenware vase. He painted four in August 1888, as the flowers were wilting in the heat, and in January 1889, after the breakdown that ended Gauguin’s stay, he painted three repetitions of the best of them.
Yellow on yellow
The boldest versions are yellow flowers in a yellow vase against a yellow background — almost unheard of in still life, where contrast usually does the work. Van Gogh made it possible with new, bright chrome-yellow pigments and thick, sculpted paint, especially in the seed heads. Some of the flowers are fresh, some are drooping, some have dropped their petals, so the bouquet reads as a life cycle rather than a single moment.
The yellows that made the paintings famous are the ones slowly changing: lighter chrome yellow darkens with long exposure to light, which is why the museums that own them keep the lighting low.
Signed on the vase
On some versions Van Gogh signed not in a corner but on the vase itself — a simple “Vincent”, painted into the glaze like a maker’s mark. Not every version carries it. It’s a reminder that a signature can sit anywhere in a picture; see how to read an artist’s signature.
Where the Sunflowers are now
- The National Gallery, London — fifteen sunflowers, August 1888, bought in 1924.
- Neue Pinakothek, Munich — twelve sunflowers on a blue background, August 1888.
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam — a January 1889 repetition of the London picture.
- Philadelphia Museum of Art — a January 1889 repetition of the Munich picture.
- SOMPO Museum of Art, Tokyo — bought at Christie’s in London in 1987 for £24.75 million, a sale that tripled the previous auction record for a painting.
- A private collection holds the first, smallest version, with three flowers.
- Destroyed: a version with five sunflowers, in a private collection in Ashiya, Japan, burned in an air raid on 6 August 1945.
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Dates
- August 1888 and January 1889 (Arles)
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Versions
- Seven in Arles; one destroyed in 1945
- Famous for
- Yellow on yellow, thick paint, chrome yellow
- See it
- London, Amsterdam, Munich, Philadelphia, Tokyo
Found a sunflower still life of your own? Art & Painting Identifier suggests the artist, title and style from one photo. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers are among the most reproduced images in the world, so if the match is perfect, check whether it’s a print next.
The takeaway
The Sunflowers began as decoration for a friend’s room and became a family of paintings scattered across three continents, one of which no longer exists. They show Van Gogh at his most confident — yellow against yellow, paint you could almost pick up — and they show how a famous image multiplies: versions, repetitions and, ever since, millions of copies.
At a glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Dates | August 1888 and January 1889 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Versions | Seven in Arles; one destroyed in 1945 |
| Public collections | London, Amsterdam, Munich, Philadelphia, Tokyo |
| Auction record | £24.75 million, Christie’s London, 1987 |
Frequently asked questions
How many Sunflowers paintings did Van Gogh make?
Seven of sunflowers in a vase in Arles in 1888–89, plus an earlier group of cut sunflowers painted in Paris in 1887.
Why did Van Gogh paint Sunflowers?
To decorate the guest room of his Yellow House in Arles for the arrival of Paul Gauguin in 1888.
Which Sunflowers was destroyed?
A version with five sunflowers, in a private collection in Ashiya, Japan, destroyed in an air raid on 6 August 1945.
Why are the Sunflowers changing colour?
Some of the lighter chrome-yellow pigment Van Gogh used darkens with prolonged exposure to light, so museums keep the lighting low.
Sources and further reading
- Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888 — The National Gallery, London
- Sunflowers (Van Gogh series) — Wikipedia
Links checked October 4, 2026.
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