Although not yet publicly announced, The Art Newspaper can reveal that the Philadelphia Art Museum will next year hold an exhibition entitled Van Gogh's Sunflowers: A Symphony in Blue and Yellow (6 June-11 October 2026). According to a museum spokesperson, the show "will bring together two Sunflower paintings, considering how the artist used colour and brushwork to different expressive effects".
At this time, Louis Marchesano, deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, will lead day-to-day operations at the museum while we identify an interim director and chief executive. As this is an internal matter, we are limited in what we can say. The board of trustees is focused on fulfilling the museum's mission as we enter our 150th year. We are not providing further comment at this time.
For many years, the paintings one of which is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, while the other hangs at Kenwood were believed to have been painted by the Dutch master. But in the 1920s, the consensus shifted. The Kenwood painting, which is in much better condition and crucially is signed by the artist, was the original Vermeer, experts agreed.