
Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) abandoned civilization for the South Pacific, seeking what he called "primitive" purity and spiritual intensity. His striking images of Polynesian women, painted in bold flat colors with symbolic meaning, influenced everything from Fauvism to Abstract Expressionism. Gauguin pioneered Synthetism, using areas of pure color for expressive purposes rather than naturalistic representation. His masterpiece Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? encapsulates his philosophical and artistic vision.
Gauguin worked as a Parisian stockbroker before abandoning his family to pursue art. He studied under Pissarro and exhibited with the Impressionists, but broke from them in Brittany where he developed his distinctive style. His nine-week stay with Van Gogh in Arles (1888) ended dramatically. Gauguin first traveled to Tahiti in 1891, disappointed to find French colonialism had transformed his imagined paradise. He returned in 1895, remaining in the Pacific until his death. His work was unappreciated until after death; dealer Ambroise Vollard promoted him posthumously. The Musee d'Orsay, Museum of Modern Art, and Hermitage hold major collections.
28 paintings catalogued with museum locations

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin, 1889
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

Paul Gauguin, 1897
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston

Paul Gauguin, 1892
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel

Paul Gauguin
Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge), Cambridge, Cambridge

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, Richmond

Paul Gauguin
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Rotterdam

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Fogg Museum (Harvard Art Museums), Cambridge, MA, Cambridge

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans, Orleans, Orléans

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Madrid

Paul Gauguin
Private Collection, Unknown

Paul Gauguin, 1892
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Paul Gauguin, 1899
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Paul Gauguin, 1891
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Paul Gauguin, 1888
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
Paul Gauguin, 1892
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
Paul Gauguin, 1897
Courtauld Gallery, London
2 sculptures catalogued with museum locations. Browse all sculptures
15 museums display Gauguin's works. Click any museum to see visiting info and the specific works they hold.


Chicago, United States
2 works on display



Unknown, Unknown
12 works on display
New York, USA
1 work on display


Paris, France
3 works on display

Boston, USA
1 work on display

Madrid, Spain
1 work on display

Basel, Switzerland
1 work on display
London, Unknown
1 work on display

Cambridge, UK
1 work on display

Rotterdam, Netherlands
1 work on display

Cambridge, US
1 work on display

Orléans, France
1 work on display

Buffalo, United States
2 works on display
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
1 work on display

Richmond, United States
1 work on display
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