Vincent van Gogh's The New Church and Old Houses in the Hague (1882–1883) stands among his earliest oils, painted just weeks after he resumed working in the medium in August 1882. Created during his Hague period, the work reflects his direct contact with Dutch masters Anton Mauve, H.J. Weissenbruch, Jozef Israëls, and Jacob Maris — the pivotal point when he was transitioning from draftsman to painter.

Viewed from the Ammunition Harbor, a compact row of brick houses fills the middle distance — terracotta rooftops, worn white and gray facades — with a dark worked green in the foreground. The turret of the Nieuwe Kerk (built 1649–1656) rises above the roofline into a pale, silvery sky edged with soft pink. Van Gogh's brushwork is already deliberate and textured: directional strokes, a muted palette, and the tonal restraint that defines his Hague work.

The painting was exhibited at the Kunstzaal Oldenzeel in Rotterdam (1903–1905) and appeared in the landmark 1960 Van Gogh retrospective at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. The Van Gogh Museum has confirmed its authenticity, and it is catalogued in Walther and Metzger's Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings (2015) and Hulsker's The New Complete Van Gogh (1996). Only 14 of Van Gogh's Hague-period paintings remain in private hands — this is one of them.