Vincent van Gogh’s (1853-1890) Sunflowers paintings are among the world’s most recognizable works of art. Central to his artistic ambition, these extraordinary still lifes provide insight into Van Gogh’s methods of production, artistic values, and exhibition strategies. Building on the 2019 technical study of the Sunflowers paintings undertaken by the Van Gogh Museum and the National Gallery, London, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers examines his two Sunflowers painting campaigns, places still life painting at the heart of the electric debates between Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in the Yellow House in Arles in the summer of 1888, and considers how the artist intended the paintings to be displayed.

Sumptuous images capturing the boldness and detail of the Sunflowers paintings illustrate three essays by leading curators. From Van Gogh’s insistence on painting from nature to his identification with the sunflower motif to his preferred display and framing strategies, this publication addresses myriad facets of Van Gogh’s artistic practice through the singular lens of his Sunflowers paintings.

Distributed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition Schedule:

Philadelphia Museum of Art
(June 6-October 11, 2026)

Art of Japan presents one hundred highlights of Japanese art from the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, dating from the Neolithic period to today. Among them are a temple and a teahouse, acquired in 1928, each the first of its type in an American museum. The collection is also notable for tea wares, particularly ceramics produced between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. The Edo and Meiji periods are especially well represented by a wide range of artworks that include calligraphy, paintings, and prints by such luminaries as Hon’ami Koetsu (1558-1637), Ike Taiga (1723-1776), and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). An introductory essay by Felice Fischer illuminates the formation of the museum’s extensive collection of Japanese art, which began with the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition-the event that first opened American eyes to Japanese art and culture. The naissance of the museum’s exceptional holdings of Japanese ceramics can be traced directly to the Centennial, where General Hector Tyndale acquired more than a hundred examples that he bequeathed to the fledgling museum. This collection has continued to be augmented with ceramics by current practitioners of the craft, also represented in this volume, along with works by other contemporary Japanese artists. For anyone curious about Japanese art and its relevance to the art of the world today, this book provides an engaging roadmap from earliest times to the present.