Paper cache holds clues to London life – and love – of Van Gogh

Vanessa Thorpe: The Guardian

Newly discovered household documents and a battered book of prayers from the time Vincent van Gogh lived in south London are to shed new light on key months in the artist’s life.

The crumpled papers and an 1867 pamphlet of prayers and hymns were found hidden under floorboards and between attic timbers at 87 Hackford Road, the terraced house near Brixton where the artist lodged for over a year from May 1873. The cache came to light during renovation work earlier this year, according to Van Gogh expert Martin Bailey. …Read More

Image: A blue plaque on 87 Hackford Road tells passersby the artist once lived there. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian