How Many Paintings Did Van Gogh Sell While Alive

A lot of people say that the Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, sold only one painting in his lifetime. Is this true though?

Vincent van Gogh sold many paintings during his lifetime, although exactly how many are unknown. He sold at least xx-one paintings for money while he was live. And, he was also known for trading paintings for food and lath. In that sense, van Gogh sold a much larger amount of paintings.

Vincent Van Gogh | ingehogenbijl / Shutterstock.com

You tin can read more below almost who van Gogh sold his paintings to, how he rose to fame, and what his paintings are worth today.

What Van Gogh Sold in His Lifetime

Van Gogh tragically committed suicide when he was only 37 years old. Many believe that he committed suicide due to mental wellness issues and, in function, due to living in extreme poverty.

Although he was considered to exist very unsuccessful while he was alive, Van Gogh did sell more one painting. This is contrary to the very popular myth that he sold but a single painting while he was alive.

The Van Gogh Museum highlights on their website that "Vincent's first commission was from his uncle Cor. He was an art dealer and wanted to help his nephew on his mode, so he ordered 19 cityscapes of The Hague."

This is far from only a unmarried painting. Not only that, but he even had more than 1 purchaser.

One of the other purchasers of van Gogh's work was the London art dealer Sulley & Lori. In 1964 the art historian Marc Edo Talbaut brought to light a letter from van Gogh's brother, Theo, that highlight's this sale.

In Talbaut'south 1969 book titled Vincent van Gogh he writes "On October 3, 1888, Theo wrote to the London art dealers, Sulley & Lori. In this letter, he said: 'We accept the honour to inform yous that nosotros have sent yous the two pictures you have bought and duly paid for: a landscape past Camille Corot … a self-portrait by V. van Gogh.'"

The well-nigh famous sale of van Gogh'due south work and the one that started the "only one sale in his lifetime" myth, was the sale of the painting The Red Vineyard to Anna Boch. This rumor probably began considering it was the but painting to sell in his lifetime that'south proper noun was known.

Vincent'south Rising to Fame

As is pretty commonly known, van Gogh was not the famous painter that he is today while he was alive. And so how did he become such a huge success after his death?

Well, equally Wouter van der Veen and Peter Knapp highlight in their 2010 book, Van Gogh in Auvers: His Concluding Days, van Gogh's rise to fame was due to his brother Theo's widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.

In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, Wouter van der Veen was asked "Why did Van Gogh and his fine art get her cause?" Van der Veen'southward response was:

"First of all, I don't really recall she had a choice. She had all this art, and of course, Theo told her virtually it and it was office of her life. She had no option but to go on with that. She had an amazing corporeality of fine art, and there were ongoing projects that Theo left behind. He wanted to organize an exhibition of Vincent's works, and he wanted to publish the letters. He couldn't practise either of these because he died."

Van der Veen and then goes on to elaborate that Johanna had to call up well-nigh her newborn son'southward future and that future was in her selling these paintings. Thus, she became a very well known fine art dealer and was responsible for van Gogh'south fame subsequently he passed away.

Follow the below YouTube link to learn more than about Johanna van Gogh-Bonger and her influence over Vincent van Gogh's ascension to fame.

How Much A Van Gogh Painting Is Worth Today

When van Gogh sold the painting The Cherry Vineyard in the late 1800'southward it was only for 400 francs, which is equivalent to about $2000 today. That is much lower than what a van Gogh painting is worth now.

On March nine, 2020, van Gogh'south painting Paysanne devant une chaumière (Peasant Adult female in front of a Farmhouse) (1885) sold for somewhere between $thirteen.5 1000000 to $sixteen.9 million USD. However, this sale does not even compare to some of the other sales of his work.

The about expensive van Gogh painting to ever sell was his piece titled Portrait of Dr. Gachet, which sold for $82.5 million on May 15, 1990. The cost of that painting today would be around $161.4 million USD.