How Many Paintings Did Vincent Van Gogh Sell During His Lifetime?

A lot of people say that the Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, sold just 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 20-1 paintings for money while he was alive. And, he was likewise known for trading paintings for food and board. In that sense, van Gogh sold a much larger amount of paintings.

Vincent Van Gogh | ingehogenbijl / Shutterstock.com

You can read more below virtually 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 health problems and, in part, due to living in extreme poverty.

Although he was considered to be very unsuccessful while he was alive, Van Gogh did sell more than one painting. This is reverse 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 commencement commission was from his uncle Cor. He was an art dealer and wanted to help his nephew on his way, so he ordered 19 cityscapes of The Hague."

This is far from only a unmarried painting. Non merely that, but he fifty-fifty had more than one purchaser.

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

In Talbaut's 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 have the honor to inform you that we take sent you the ii pictures yous have bought and duly paid for: a landscape by Camille Corot … a self-portrait by 5. van Gogh.'"

The nigh famous sale of van Gogh's piece of work and the one that started the "merely one auction in his lifetime" myth, was the auction of the painting The Red Vineyard to Anna Boch. This rumor probably began because it was the only painting to sell in his lifetime that's name was known.

Vincent's Rise to Fame

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

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

In an interview with Smithsonian Mag, Wouter van der Veen was asked "Why did Van Gogh and his art become her cause?" Van der Veen's response was:

"First of all, I don't really think she had a choice. She had all this art, and of course, Theo told her nigh it and it was part of her life. She had no choice but to become on with that. She had an astonishing amount of art, and there were ongoing projects that Theo left backside. He wanted to organize an exhibition of Vincent's works, and he wanted to publish the letters. He couldn't do either of these considering he died."

Van der Veen then goes on to elaborate that Johanna had to think about her newborn son'south futurity 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's fame afterward he passed abroad.

Follow the beneath YouTube link to larn more about Johanna van Gogh-Bonger and her influence over Vincent van Gogh'south rise to fame.

How Much A Van Gogh Painting Is Worth Today

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

On March 9, 2020, van Gogh's painting Paysanne devant une chaumière (Peasant Woman in front of a Farmhouse) (1885) sold for somewhere between $13.5 1000000 to $16.9 million USD. However, this auction does non 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.