Van Gogh transferred to the St. Paul de Mausole asylum in St.-Rémy-de-Provence in late spring of 1889. Most of his paintings from this time depict the buildings and grounds of the institution, a reflection of his restricted movement. The artist was not allowed to venture beyond the asylum boundaries for the first two months of his stay. During his delusional bouts, Vincent could not compose original paintings, resorting instead to copying paintings by the old masters he admired. Eventually, he was deemed stable enough to explore areas within a certain distance. Pollack was fascinated by how Van Gogh transformed the banal asylum into vibrant and dynamic works of art, such as The Pharmacy Window.

Dr. Edgar Leroy, the head of the asylum during the 1940s and an admirer of Van Gogh's art, converted the room Van Gogh had occupied into a miniature art gallery with reproductions of his works. Little else had changed at this site in the sixty years separating Van Gogh's stay from Peter Pollack's visit.

1. Peter Pollack. Vestibule at St. Paul's. Photograph. 1949.
2. Peter Pollack. Corridor at St. Paul's. Photograph. 1949.
3. Daniel Catton Rich and Theodore Rousseau. Van Gogh, Paintings and Drawings: A Special Loan Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1940-1950. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, c1949.
4. Peter Pollack. The Pharmacy Window. Photograph. 1949.
5. Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh in St. Remy and Auvers. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986.
6. Peter Pollack. View from Van Gogh's Window. Photograph. 1949.