The coming Van Gogh in America exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts will include 72 Van Goghs, with 56 paintings and 16 works on paper. This will represent the largest number of paintings by the artist at any US venue for more than 20 years.
Van Gogh in America, which is scheduled to run from 2 October to 22 January 2023, will for the first time reveal the story of the artist’s rise to fame in the US. Detroit is a most appropriate venue, since its museum was the pioneer in North America in buying a Van Gogh.
In 1922 the Detroit Institute of Arts bought Self-portrait with Straw Hat (August-September 1887), for $4,200. This painting is currently at the Courtauld Gallery’s exhibition, Van Gogh Self-portraits, but it will be returned when the London show closes on 8 May.
Detroit is also an appropriate venue for another reason. The next four Van Goghs bought by other US museums, during the 1930s, also all went to the Midwest—not, as might have been expected, to the East Coast.
Above: Van Gogh’s Self-portrait with Straw Hat (August-September 1887) Credit: Detroit Institute of Arts
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