Coming and Going, Martinique by Paul Gauguin
A Farm in Brittany by Paul Gauguin
In the Waves (Dans les Vagues) by Paul Gauguin
Figures in a Garden by Paul Gauguin
Fruit Dish on a Garden Chair by Paul Gauguin
Waterside Houses by Paul Gauguin
Apatarao by Paul Gauguin
Paris in the Snow by Paul Gauguin
Two Children by Paul Gauguin
Canoe; Tahitian Family (Te vaa) by Paul Gauguin
Women and a White Horse by Paul Gauguin
Arearea no varua ino by Paul Gauguin

Where to See Paul Gauguin

29 museums worldwide

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About Paul Gauguin

French · 1848–1903 · Post-Impressionism, Symbolism

a Parisian stockbroker who abandoned his family to paint in Tahiti, survived a suicide attempt, and died in the Marquesas at fifty-four

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Paul Gauguin's works are held in 29 museums worldwide, including National Gallery of Art, Nationalmuseum, and Musée d'Orsay.

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🇩🇰 Denmark

3 museums

🇫🇷 France

1 museum

🇩🇪 Germany

2 museums

🇮🇱 Israel

1 museum

🇯🇵 Japan

4 museums

🇳🇱 Netherlands

1 museum

🇳🇴 Norway

1 museum

🇷🇺 Russia

2 museums

🇪🇸 Spain

1 museum

🇸🇪 Sweden

1 museum

🇨🇭 Switzerland

2 museums

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

1 museum

🇺🇸 United States

9 museums

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Paul Gauguin's work?
    Paul Gauguin's paintings and prints are held in museum collections around the world. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has a substantial collection of his paintings, including works from his time in Brittany and Tahiti. The Art Institute of Chicago also holds a number of important paintings, such as "Why Are You Angry?" (1896[7]). Other significant collections are at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Courtauld Gallery in London, and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen. These museums offer a range of Gauguin's output, from early Impressionist-influenced works to his later Synthetist style. Prints and drawings by Gauguin are less frequently on display than his paintings, due to their sensitivity to light. However, major print rooms such as the British Museum and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France hold significant collections. These can often be viewed by appointment, or during special exhibitions. Catalogues raisonnés are available; these document the locations of known works.
  • Where did Paul Gauguin live?
    Paul Gauguin lived in Lima, Peru as a baby, before returning to Paris when he was seven years old. Later in life, he lived in Copenhagen, Brittany, and Tahiti, among other places.
  • What should I know about Paul Gauguin's prints?
    Paul Gauguin produced prints throughout his career, although they are fewer in number than his paintings or sculptures. His printmaking experiments include woodcuts, lithographs, and monotypes. These graphic works often echo themes and imagery found in his paintings, such as Tahitian figures and Pacific island settings. Gauguin's prints are characterised by bold lines and simplified forms. He often employed a technique of leaving areas of the paper untouched, creating a stark contrast between light and dark. This is particularly evident in his woodcuts, where the grain of the wood itself becomes an important element of the composition. One notable set of prints is the Noa Noa series (circa 1893[7]-94). These works were created to accompany his book of the same name, a semi-fictional account of his time in Tahiti. The Noa Noa prints combine woodcut and monotype techniques, resulting in unique impressions with varied colour and texture. These prints helped to disseminate Gauguin's vision of Polynesia to a wider audience. Other important prints include his Bretonneries series, depicting scenes from Brittany.
  • Why are Paul Gauguin's works important today?
    Paul Gauguin's art is important for several reasons. He experimented with colour and form, moving away from representational accuracy. His interest in non-Western cultures introduced new subjects and styles to European art. Gauguin (1848[7]-1903[7]) rejected Impressionism's focus on optical realism. He sought to express inner emotions and spiritual ideas through simplified shapes and symbolic colours. This approach influenced the development of Symbolism[7] and Expressionism. Artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso were inspired by Gauguin's bold use of colour and his flattening of perspective. His time in French[7] Polynesia, particularly Tahiti, produced some of his most well-known paintings. These works depict Tahitian people and culture, although with a Western gaze that has become a subject of debate. Gauguin's representation of indigenous people has been criticised for idealising and exoticising them. This raises important questions about cultural appropriation and the artist's role in representing other cultures. His art continues to be studied for its aesthetic innovations and the complex issues it raises about colonialism and representation.
  • Why did Paul Gauguin move to tahiti?
    Paul Gauguin moved to Tahiti expecting an untouched paradise, but instead found a French[7] colonial territory.
  • Paul Gauguin most famous?
    Paul Gauguin died in poverty in the Marquesas in 1903[7]. Three years later, a large retrospective exhibition of 227 of his paintings and engravings was held in Paris.
  • Why did Paul Gauguin and van gogh fight?
    Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh argued constantly about art during their sixty-three days of cohabitation in Arles. Van Gogh was exhausted and overstrained, which made him no match for Gauguin, who had strong nerves and a cool manner of arguing.
  • What techniques or materials did Paul Gauguin use?
    Paul Gauguin's techniques and materials evolved throughout his career. Initially, he used minimally hand-ground colours, which gave a granular texture, unlike the smooth, machine-made pigments available at the time. His palette included cadmium and chrome yellows, yellow ochre, viridian and emerald greens, ultramarine and cobalt blues, cobalt violet, red lakes, vermilion, and white. Gauguin often employed unprimed, coarse fabrics like sackcloth, exploiting their texture to create matt surfaces. He applied thin, opaque paint layers, allowing the fabric to show through. When using primed canvas, he preferred thin, pale layers. He believed absorbent grounds were important, as they gave a sunken appearance to the paint, similar to unprimed cloth. He sometimes added wax to his paint to stiffen it and create a matt finish, a common practice at the time to stabilise the paint and reduce the pigment needed. In warmer climates like Tahiti, wax-filled colours remained malleable. Gauguin applied paint with brushes, sometimes stiff, and occasionally used a palette knife. He outlined contours directly onto the canvas in vermilion and dark ultramarine or Prussian blue paint, building up modelling in flat areas of colour.

Sources

Where to See guide aggregates verified holdings of Paul Gauguin's works across the following collections.

  1. [1] museum Brooklyn Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Toledo Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] museum Hungarian National Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
  5. [5] museum Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans Used for: museum holdings.
  6. [6] museum Galleria d'arte moderna di Milano Used for: museum holdings.
  7. [7] wikipedia Wikipedia: Paul Gauguin Used for: biography.
  8. [8] book Susie Hodge, Art Used for: biography.
  9. [9] book Susie Hodge, Art: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Artists and Their Work Used for: biography.
  10. [10] book Susie Hodge, Artistic Circles Used for: biography.
  11. [11] book Vincent van Gogh, Delphi Complete Works of Vincent Van Gogh (Illustrated) Used for: biography.
  12. [12] book Susie Hodge, I Know an Artist Used for: biography, museum holdings.
  13. [13] book Susie Hodge, I Know an Artist: The Inspiring Connections Between the World's Greatest Artists Used for: biography, museum holdings.
  14. [14] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
  15. [15] book Vincent van Gogh, Masters of Art - Vincent van Gogh Used for: biography.
  16. [16] book Nathalia Brodskaya, Post-Impressionism Used for: biography.
  17. [17] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
  18. [18] book Post-impressionism : cross-currents in European painting Used for: biography.
  19. [19] book Perry, Gill, Frascina, Francis, Harrison, Dr. Charles, Primitivism, Cubism, Abstraction_ The Early Twentieth Century_ Book 2 (Open University_ Modern Art - Practices & Debates) Used for: biography.
  20. [20] book VINCENT VAN GOGH, Works of Vincent van Gogh (Masters of Art) Used for: biography.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-30. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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