Once the most expensive painting ever auctioned, has a long hidden Van Gogh portrait been rediscovered?
Original article written for The Art Newspaper
Van Gogh in 2024
Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr Gachet (June 1890), which is among his greatest paintings, finally seems to have been tracked down. It was last seen in 1990, when it sold for $82.5m, making it then the most expensive painting ever auctioned.
The portrait later discreetly changed hands twice, most recently in 1998, when it disappeared into an extremely private collection. There has been endless speculation about its fate. The New York Times has now named the apparent buyer, a family in Switzerland.
Record Prices
When it comes to Van Gogh auction sales, Christie’s came tops in 2024, selling Corner of a Garden with Butterflies for $33.2m and Moored Boats for HK$250.6 (US$32.2m). Corner of a Garden with Butterflies represented a record sum for a Paris-period Van Gogh. Christie’s also sold the painting Head of a Woman with White Cap (£1.9m) and the watercolour Woman Sewing (£2.5m).
Sotheby’s had a couple of more modest works: the drawing Two Women strolling (£312,000) and the painting Head of a Peasant ($787,000). Bonhams auctioned the drawing Sien’s Mother’s House seen from the Back Yard (£1.1m).
Among the Van Goghs handled by dealers was Head of a Peasant Woman in a White Cap, which was sold by New Orleans-based M.S. Rau for around $5m.
| Tête de paysanne à la coiffe blanche by Vincent van Gogh. Sold at M.S. Rau. |
