Which London museum holds Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'?

London’s National Gallery holds Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers still life. The work is one of the Arles paintings from 1888, showing a vase filled with sunflowers against a yellow background and using intense variations of yellow to create both harmony and contrast.

“Sunflowers” can be confusing because Van Gogh painted two related series. In Paris in 1887, he painted cut sunflowers lying on a surface. In Arles the following year, he painted bouquets in vases, including the National Gallery version. He conceived these works as a decorative ensemble for the Yellow House, where he hoped to welcome Paul Gauguin.

The National Gallery painting is sometimes called the “London Sunflowers” to distinguish it from other versions in museums such as the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. It is not held by the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum or Tate Modern. The National Gallery acquired it in 1924, making it the first painting by Van Gogh to enter a public collection.