Art Institute of ChicagoPublic domain

The Poet's Garden

Vincent van Gogh · 1888

Analyst brief

What the record supports

"The Poet's Garden," an oil on canvas created by Vincent van Gogh in 1888, measures 73 × 92.1 cm (28 3/4 × 36 1/4 in.). The framed dimensions are 96.6 × 116.9 cm (38 × 46 in.). This work is classified as an oil on canvas within the Painting and Sculpture of Europe department and represents Dutch culture.

The artwork's provenance traces back to the artist’s sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, and later passed through Galerie d’Art Odenzeel, Rotterdam, and Galerie d’Art d’Audretsch, The Hague. By 1925, it was held by M. Gieseler in The Hague, then sold at A. Mak, Amsterdam, in October 1925. Howard Young Galleries, New York, subsequently owned it before Mrs. Lewis Larned (Annie Swan) Coburn acquired it by at least 1928, ultimately bequeathing it to the Art Institute in 1933, where it became part of the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection.

"The Poet's Garden" has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including early showings in Copenhagen (1893) and Christiania (Oslo) in 1898. Later exhibitions include the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1930), and multiple appearances at the Art Institute of Chicago, such as in 1932 and 1934. It was also shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1984) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1984). Comparable holdings by Van Gogh from a similar period (1888-1890) include "Madame Roulin and Her Baby," "Shoes," and "Irises," all located at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Generated from the catalogue fields shown on this page. Nartmad does not assert attributions, valuations or prices that no cited source supports.

Provenance

Ownership history

The artist’s sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (died 1925) [see Nordenfalk 1946 and Supinen 1990]. Galerie d’Art Odenzeel, Rotterdam [La Faille 1928, 131]. Galerie d’Art d’Audretsch, The Hague, Netherlands [according to information on Registrar archival card, copy in curatorial object file]. M. Gieseler, The Hague, Netherlands, by 1925; Sale, A. Mak, Amsterdam, Oct. 1925, lot 33. Howard Young Galleries, New York [stock no. 2486, according to Registrar archival card]. Mrs. Lewis Larned (Annie Swan) Coburn (died 1932), Chicago, by at least 1928 [see Registrar receipt dated May 28, 1928, copy in curatorial object file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1933.

Recorded by Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibitions

Exhibition history

Copenhagen, Den Frie Udstilling, 1893, cat. 183.
Christiania (Oslo), exhibition of modern French art organized by Julien Leclercq, Jan. 1898; Stockholm, Feb. 1898, Gothenburg, Helsinki, and Berlin, 1898, no cat. [Shown in Stockholm and Gothenburg, possibly in Helsinki and Berlin, see Carl Nordenfalk 1946 and Supinen 1990].
Possibly Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune Galerie, Exposition d'Œuvres de Vincent van Gogh, Mar. 15 - 31, 1901, cat. 60.
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Summer Exhibition: Retrospective, June-Sep. 1930, cat. 105.
Art Institute of Chicago, Exhibition of the Mrs. L. L. Coburn Collection: Paintings and Water Colors, Apr. 6-Oct. 9, 1932, cat. 13.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, June 1-Nov. 1, 1934, cat. 315.
Springfield, MA, Cézanne to the Present, Dec. 1935-Jan. 1936, cat. 52.
Art Institute of Chicago, Vincent Van Gogh, 1936, not included in cat.
Cleveland Museum of Art, Work by Vincent van Gogh, 1948, cat. 12 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, The Artist Looks at the Landscape, June 22-Aug. 25, 1974, no cat.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape, June 28–Sep. 16, 1984, cat. 89; Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 23, 1984-Jan. 6, 1985; Paris, Galeries Nationales d’Exposition du Grand Palais, Feb. 8-Apr. 22, 1985 (Los Angeles only).
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Van Gogh in Arles, Oct. 18, 1984-Dec. 30, 1984, cat. 104.

Literature

Published references

Vincent van Gogh, Brieven Aan Zijn Broeder, ed. Jo van Gogh-Bonger (Amsterdam: Maatschappij voor goede & goedkoope lectuur, 1924), 174.
J[acob]-B[aart] de la Faille, L’Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh, Catalogue Raisonné vol. 1 (Paris and Brussels: G. van Oest, 1928), 131 no. 468, pl. 131.
Vincent van Gogh, Further Letters to His Brother, 1886–1889 vol. 3 (London: Constable, 1929), no. 537.
“Masterpieces of the French Impressionists,” The Fine Arts 19, no. 1 (June 1932): 22 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago Bulletin 27 (December 1933), 116 (ill.).
Carl Nordenfalk, “Van Gogh and Sweden,” Kunshistorisk Tidskrift 15 (December 1946): 92–93.
Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in The Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1961), 182.
Frederick A. Sweet, “Great Chicago Collectors,” Apollo 84 (September 1966): 203.
J[acob]-B[aart] de la Faille, The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings (New York: Reynal & Company, 1970), 212 (ill.), 213 no.F 470.
Paolo Lecaldano, L’opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici: Da Arles a Auvers vol. 2 (Milan: Rizzoli, 1977), 212-13 no. 571 (ill.).
Jan Hulsker, The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1980), 358 no. 1578, 361 (ill.).
A. M. and Renilde Hammacher, Van Gogh: A Documentary Biography (London: Thames and Hudson, 1982), 166, 179 (ill.), 237, no. 143.

Comparables