May 24, 2012

Nice Piece of History with an Outside Toilet!

Hackford House in London where Van Gogh lived.

I am a big fan of Vincent Van Gogh so when I read that the London boarding house where he lived from 1873 to 1874 was sold at auction I just had to know more. It seems there was not much in Vincent’s life without drama, and the year he spent living on the top floor of the three-bedroom Victorian on Hackford Road at age 20 was no exception. He earned a nice income working for art dealers on Southampton Street, had outings with friends and wrote cheerful letters to his brother, Theo. It's also where he experienced his first crushing heartbreak. 


Before delving into Vincent's romance, a little bit about the house. As you can imagine, it sold very quickly at auction for over half a million dollars. I would have loved to own 
that piece of history but I’m afraid the few bucks I offered as a down payment were politely rejected. I tried to sweeten the deal by throwing in photos of my beautiful dogs, along with a lifetime supply of chocolate, but alas, no deal. Perhaps I should have offered dark chocolate!

The property at 87 Hackford Road on the south side of the Thames River was once in a fashionable district but has since gone downhill. The house is in need of repair and has certainly seen better days, but it still retains the original cast iron fireplaces and an ever-so-handy outside toilet!! (If I owed the place, I’d decorate that outside toilet with both Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” and “Landscape Under a Stormy Sky,” very fitting, I think!)

There’s an English Heritage blue plaque on the outside of the house honoring the artist. According to letters he sent to his brother, Theo, Vincent spent some of his happiest days at Hackford House. He loved that house so much he even made a sketch of it.  



Van Gogh’s sketch of the Hackford House


Young Vincent Van Gogh


Vincent was a starry-eyed romantic and this house is where the 20-year-old artist fell deeply and hopelessly in love for the first time. He was smitten with the landlady’s 19-year-old daughter, Eugenie Loyer. He offered her a passionate marriage proposal but she declined. Some say Van Gogh’s subsequent mental breakdown can be traced back to the heart-wrenching rejection of his tender love for Eugenie. (Well, at least he kept his ears at this point!)

Perhaps Van Gogh was too intense for Eugenie. Can you imagine the guy out on a date sitting at a cafĂ©...“Those flowers on the table are not brilliant enough. Hand me my paints, I’ll fix that!” Or strolling along under the stars at night…“My dear, these stars are much too pale. Where’s my canvass? I shall paint a truly starry night befitting your beauty!” "Oh Vincent," Eugenie may have said, "I only wanted a nice stroll along the Thames and a cup of tea."

Eugenie Loyer
I searched but was unable to find any sketches or paintings Vincent had done of Eugenie. But I am certain he sketched or painted his love. How could he not? The guy was full of emotion and young love! Perhaps he tore them up or painted over the canvass, unable to bear the heartbreak. Ever the romantic! We may never know.

Vincent eventually moved away, paintbrushes in hand and both ears intact. Ah, the pain of unrequited love! But he went on to do some of his best work. Brilliant, talented, sensitive, and perhaps mentally unstable, Vincent Van Gogh has left us beautiful, vibrant artwork, and a life so full of emotion and drama that you can write endless tales about him. Thank you, Vincent! I hope the new owner of your London home will honor your memory, fix it up and turn it into a museum for art lovers. I’d like to suggest a space dedicated to young, aspiring artists, like Vincent was when he lived there. And I will gladly visit and bring the chocolate!

Video tour of the Hackford house before it went on auction. Shows the top floor where Vincent lived, the garden and outside toilet.



© 2012 JerseyLil’s 2 Cents.

15 comments:

  1. Was the outside toilet surrounded by any kind of wall or was it just opened completely? I don't know why that has peeked my curiosity.

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    1. Wow, Kristina, an excellent question so I researched it! The outside toilet has walls and a door just like an outhouse. So if someone bought the property, they could conceivably put artwork inside the walls of the outside toilet! That’s what I would have done. Because of your excellent question, I have updated my post with a video tour of the house showing the outside toilet (toward end of video). Thanks! :)

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    2. Neat video. The tour guide seemed to be a little speechless when he opened the door to the bedroom because of the run-down condition.

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  2. Fascinating, Madilyn. I never knew Van Gogh had ever lived in London. It's sad. He had to live through so much rejection, in love as well as art. I guess he just took life way too seriously. But he was a brilliant artist, and a brilliant writer, and in spite of it all, a moving and inspiring figure.

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    1. I’m so glad you found it fascinating, Marty! I didn’t know Van Gogh had ever lived in London either. Yes, he was a brilliant artist and inspiring figure. Thanks!

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  3. Thought it would be jokes like earlier posts. Good one anyway.

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    1. Thanks, Dhaston! I love posting jokes and chocolate recipes, but I also like writing articles now and then on stuff I find interesting. Plus, I tried to make this post a little humorous, too!

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  4. It is a shame the house is in such poor shape. Vincent also happens to be my favorite painter :) But since I read the neighborhood is going downhill, I guess you saved your couples of bucks and dog photos from a very bleak investment.

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    1. You are so right, Ana, it is a shame no one took care of the property since they knew Van Gogh had lived there. He has always been my favorite painter too! Yes, I did save my few bucks by not buying the property, as if I could have ever afforded a half million dollars...LOL! Still it’s nice to dream...

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  5. great blog on van gogh. he was also my all time favorite. i did not know (or i just forgot) that he fell in love with a lady when he was 20. and you may not be able to find any paintings he did for his love because he did not engage in serious art work until when he was 27. for what i know, he did not paint anything until a while after he practiced lots of drawings.
    poor guy! when he was 28 he was rejected by another lady.

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    1. Thanks so much, Yun Yi, I’m glad you enjoyed the piece! Van Gogh is my all-time favorite, too, and I never knew he lived in London or first had his heart broken there until I saw the article about the house sold at auction. You are right, his serious art work was done in later years (didn’t remember it was age 27, thank you). Since he was sketching while in London and had sketched the Hackford house, I had hoped to find a sketch he did of Eugenie. Was not to be but I like the romantic idea that he did a sketch of her and perhaps it will turn up as a lost treasure one day.

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  6. very cool post, madilyn. true artists are inspired and tortured by their own intensity and creativity. VVG had to have suffered a great deal of psychic pain during the years he was dormant...suppressing or denying one's drive to createis exquisitely painful.

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    1. Kris, thanks and you are so right. True artists are inspired and tortured by their own intensity and creativity, well put! Picasso was like that, too, but not to the same extent as Van Gogh. I think Van Gogh was just so sensitive that it caused him a lot of psychic pain. And he was so brilliant at the same time. I find his story fascinating and I love his art work!

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  7. Hey JerseyLil, I love to learn something new everyday. This is a great post! Thank you for things I'd never known.

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    1. Thanks, CrazyMama! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I am an information junkie and I love learning new things too! :)

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