In May 1889, Van Gogh admitted himself to the asylum outside Saint-Remy, living there a year and creating some of his most iconic paintings.

Despite the challenges of ill health and asylum life, Van Gogh continued to produce a series of masterpieces – cypresses, wheatfields, olive groves and a starry night. Yet Van Gogh rarely wrote about the asylum in his letters to his brother Theo.

Through fresh research, in his book ‘Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum’, Van Gogh specialist Martin Bailey examines the struggles that he faced and how he overcame them to channel his creativity into his art.

Part of The Living House, celebrating 150 years since Van Gogh lived in South London.

This event is sponsored by Brixton Brewery. Each in-person ticket comes with a free can of limited edition The Living House Pale Ale.

Online talk tickets will include access to watch the event live, and a link to the recording will be available for two weeks afterwards.

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Martin Bailey is the author of Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame; Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum; and other books on the artist. He is a curator of Van Gogh exhibitions, including Van Gogh and Britain at the Tate (2019), and also writer for The Art Newspaper.