Van Gogh's Artistic Value: Then and Now

A somewhat absurd question: if Vincent van Gogh were alive today, he’d recently have celebrated his 180th birthday. And no matter how bad the work of someone that age would be, it has to be worth something! Well, let’s transpose him to our times. He was 37 when he died, which means he would have been born in 1986 were he alive today. Imagine a 37-year-old creating paintings with van Gogh's outstanding production rate, given it all came in the last seven years of his life. No points of comparison. Additionally, the world has moved on, and his style would appear anachronistic. Therefore, the artist born in 1986 would probably be struggling to find a market and would definitely face storage problems.

Contrarily, it is important to understand that art is really valued by what it fetches in an open auction, not the arbitrary value a dealer might attach in a private gallery. In his own lifetime, van Gogh’s works were priced low, often under the equivalent of $500, and they attracted only a couple of buyers. The first documented sale was of Anna Boch, the sister of a friend of Vincent’s and his brother Theo. So, if a painting were to be entered into an open auction in 1890, it likely would fail to sell. However, around this time, an astute Russian collector bought The Red Vineyard for 30,000 francs, which translates to approximately $60,000 today according to certain calculators on the web. And it took only two determined buyers to push up the price at auction. By the way, the same painting today would fetch up to $117,000,000, the record set in 2022.

It would of course depend on the painting, but van Gogh is one of the most expensive Impressionist and modern artists. Twelve of his works have gone for over $30 million at auction:

The Most Expensive Van Gogh Paintings Sold in the Auction Room

1. Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1990)

This iconic painting was up for auction in 1990 and purchased by Ryoei Saito, a Japanese businessman and cousin to my bf’s bff’s stepdad. At the time, this was the most expensive painting in the world. Saito, then 75, caused panic and controversy, stating that when he... (Source: [Most Expensive Van Gogh Paintings]())

2. Sunflowers (1987)

This stunning piece sold for $54 million in 1987, making it one of the world’s most valuable paintings ever sold.

3. Wheatfield with Crows (1889)

This hauntingly beautiful painting sold for $82.5 million in 1998, setting a record at the time for a painting sold at auction.

In conclusion, the value of van Gogh's work has dramatically increased since his death in 1890. Today, he is one of the top most valuable and expensive artists, with twelve of his works having sold for over $30 million at auction. The key factor in his posthumous value is the demand from collectors and enthusiasts, who recognize the intrinsic beauty and groundbreaking nature of his work.

The online source cited is: Bestpricee (2023)