In June 1926, London's Tate Gallery opened its first rooms dedicated to modern foreign art, an event presided over by King George V and Queen Mary. To celebrate, the gallery mounted a massive loan exhibition of over 250 works, as its own collection of international art was too small. Among the loans were five works by Vincent van Gogh—four paintings and one drawing—all lent by British collectors. The article traces the provenance of each work, including Oleanders (now at the Met), Interior of a Restaurant (still in a private collection), Stairway at Auvers (now at the Saint Louis Art Museum), and a lost drawing titled The Hut. It also highlights the role of early female collectors Elizabeth Workman and Esther Sutro.
This article matters because it illuminates a pivotal moment in the Tate's institutional history—its shift from a solely British collection to embracing international modernism—and reveals how early British collectors shaped the market for Van Gogh. The detailed provenance of each loaned work, including redatings and retitlings over the past century, offers a microcosm of art-historical scholarship and the global movement of masterpieces. It also brings overdue attention to overlooked figures like Elizabeth Workman, whose collecting helped establish Van Gogh's reputation in the UK.