Van Gogh Museum Journal 2000

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fig. 1
M. Verveer, Hendrik-Willem Mesdag, The Hague, Museum Mesdag

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Theo van Gogh: his clients and suppliers
Monique Nonne

With peace established in Europe at the end of the 19th century, the favourable economic climate encouraged a considerable expansion of the art market. An extension of commercial structures increased competition. To augment their influence, art dealers had to establish international networks, which took advantage of the freedom of movement of men as well as of goods. In the early 1880s Paris still maintained its place as the indisputable capital of the arts. London, however, with 108 ‘art dealers’ in 1881, was not far behind the French capital, which counted 112.¹ Other major European cities such as Brussels and The Hague had also established their positions. Düsseldorf, Cologne, Berlin and Vienna, too, were developing art markets that could not be ignored, while the increasing importance of the United States had to be taken into consideration as well.

Employed by Goupil & Cie., Theo van Gogh arrived in Paris in 1879. Two years later he was appointed gérant of this prestigious company's branch at 19, Boulevard Montmartre.² Theo had all the qualifications necessary to carry out his new responsibilities. His name was an honourable one, well known within the profession thanks to his family's relations. He already had eight years of experience, which enabled him to forge a place for himself in the closed world of French art dealers. Paris offered him the potential of a highly diversified clientele. Foreigners tended to stay there longer than in other European cities. The accounts of the Goupil firm, which was transformed into Boussod, Valadon & Cie. in 1884, provide a daily record of the transactions of the different branches.³ Between 1880 and 1890, during the period Theo worked there, approximately 350 clients - buyers and suppliers, professionals and amateurs - dealt with the gallery at 19, Boulevard Montmartre.⁴ Unfortunately, an analysis of this information, along with the many but often-incomplete archival resources, can only provide a partial description of Theo's clients during these ten years. Nevertheless we are now able to see how he built up a network from his very beginnings in Brussels, never ceasing to enlarge it, especially at the end of his life when he ventured into the market for ‘modern’ art.

1 For Paris see Almanach du commerce de Paris, and for London The post office London directory.

2 See Chris Stolwijk, ‘Theo van Gogh: a life’ and Richard Thomson, ‘Theo van Gogh: an honest broker’ in exhib. cat. Theo van Gogh, 1857-1891: art dealer, collector and brother of Vincent, Amsterdam (Van Gogh Museum) & Paris (Musée d'Orsay) 1999-2000, pp. 15-60 and 61-148.

3 See Thomson, op. cit. (note 2), passim

4 See the list established by Chris Stolwijk of the Van Gogh Museum. This list is based on the ledgers of Goupil & Cie., which are housed in Los Angeles, Getty Center, Special Collection, Dieterle family collection of 19th century French gallery records, acc. no. 900239, Series II. Galerie Boussod Valadon, 1879-1919.

The art dealers' network

In a field where names mattered, businesses were most often handed down from father to son. Apprenticeships were done at an early age, either in the family firm or at a colleague's. This was the path followed by Vincent and Theo van Gogh, nephews of three major art dealers.⁵ Theo began his training in Brussels, worked next in The Hague, and then went on to Paris. Alexander Reid, Elbert Jan van Wisselingh and Harry Gladwell followed similar career paths in Glasgow, Amsterdam and London respectively. The new arrivals Obach, Schmidt and Dietrich all began by working for established dealers before opening their own galleries. Each was an ‘employee’ or a ‘salesman’ before becoming director of his own business. Over the years Theo carefully maintained the relations he had established with his colleagues and competitors in the most

5 These were Hendrik Vincent, known as Uncle Hein (1814-1877); Vincent, known as Uncle Cent (1820-1888); and Cornelius Marinus, known as Uncle Cor (1824-1908); see Chris Stolwijk, Uit de schilderswereld: Nederlandse kunstschilders in de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw, Leiden 1998, pp. 310-14.

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important cities in Europe and in America. Of course, he also benefited from the extensive commercial network of the Goupil firm. At the same time he developed his independence from the parent company by cultivating personal ties with other dealers.

Belgium

In January 1873 Theo began working in the Brussels gallery directed by his uncle, Hendrik Vincent van Gogh, who had taken over a Goupil branch in the Belgian capital.⁶ Because of health problems, Uncle Hein had entrusted the day to day business to a certain Victor Schmidt.⁷ The gallery was located at 58, Montagne de la Cour, the most fashionable street for galleries in a city some writers compared to Paris.⁸ The business was prosperous, and young Theo - he was 15 years old at the time - made the acquaintance of several of the dealers he would continue to see regularly throughout his life. The Bernheim brothers were not far away.⁹ Meyer, known as Bernheim-ainé, had a shop at 94, Montagne de la Cour; his son-in-law, David Rothschild, worked with him and took over the business in 1884. Aron, who added his wife's name to his own and was known as Bernheim-Brunswick, was referred to as a ‘dealer in modern painting’ in 1871 and was located at number 16 on the same street. Nearby, at 42, Rue Neuve, Alexandre differentiated himself from his brothers by taking ‘Bernheim-jeune’ as his trade name. The first brother to take up residence in the gallery district in Paris was Aron, who shortened his name back to ‘Bernheim.’ In 1878 Alexandre moved to 16, Boulevard Montmartre. Still known as Bernheim-jeune, he remained there until 1882. The location he added in 1880, at 8, Rue Laffitte, soon became his centre of activity. For a brief period David Rothschild also ran a subsidiary in Paris. As director of the Boulevard Montmartre gallery, Theo had dealings with all three colleagues, who specialised in the Belgian and Dutch schools. In 1882 he sold Meyer a painting by Corcos, an artist he had under contract; and in 1884 he sold a Detaille to Aron. His relations with Bernheim-jeune seem to have been more constant. He sold Theo his first work by Monet in 1887,¹⁰ as well as seven works by Daumier in 1890.

Another Belgian dealer who was gaining in importance was J. Hollender, who began working in Brussels at the end of the 1850s.¹¹ Theo undoubtedly met him there and ran into him again in The Hague, where he frequently did business with Tersteeg, Theo's second Goupil employer. Around 1880, Hollender joined forces with Jean-Pierre-Joseph Cremetti, another Brussels dealer. Together they opened a gallery in London known as ‘Hollender & Cremetti,’ located on New Bond Street.¹² In 1884 they launched an exhibition space called the ‘Hanover Gallery,’ where art dealers could organise sumptuous presentations of paintings. Theo did as much business with Hollender in Brussels as in London (Corcos, Madou).

Theo reinforced his position in Belgium by occasionally working with Guillaume Paul Dietrich, a former employee of Schmidt's who had set up his own highly successful company.¹³ One of Theo's most important contacts was a newcomer whom he referred to as ‘the good Clarembaux’¹⁴

6 The Brussels Almanach du commerce of 1875 and 1876 list ‘Van Gogh H.V., Montagne de la Cour, 58.’ The letterhead on H.V. van Gogh's stationery reads: ‘Maison Goupil & Cie, H.V. van Gogh sucr’; see the letter to Buffa fils, Amsterdam, Paris, 11 May 1873 (Paris, Fondation Custodia, 1977-A-851).

7 Tobias Victor Schmidt (1842-?) resided in Ixelles and then at 58, Montagne de la Cour; see Brussels, Archives de la Ville, 1866 census, E 1286. He took over H.V. van Gogh's business around 1875 and signed his correspondence: ‘H.V. van Gogh/ V. Schmidt success’; see The complete letters of Vincent van Gogh, London 1958, p. 578. The 1878 edition of the Almanach du commerce de Bruxelles lists ‘Schmidt V. (ancienne maison Goupil dt C^o, succ. de Van Gogh H.V.)’; after this, only his name is ever mentioned.

8 See Saskia de Bodt, Bruxelles colonie d'artistes: peintres hollandais 1850-1890, Brussels 1995.

9 Joseph Bernheim (1795-?) had opened a shop selling paintings in Paris around 1840. In 1846 the family lived in Liège, and then, in 1855, in Brussels, where Meyer (1825-1883) had a boutique specialising in art objects and paintings. David Rothschild (1846-?) married Mathilde Bernheim in 1874; see Brussels, Archives de la Ville, Acte de mariage 1527-74, Registres de recensement 1866 D 313 and 1866 D 297. Aron's shop was located at 36, Fossé-aux-Loups in 1869, then from 1871 at 16, Montagne de la Cour; see Brussels, Archives de la Ville, recensement 1866 K 180. His Paris gallery was located at 10, Rue La Fayette; he specialised in the ‘éecoles française, belge et hollandaise’; see Almanach du commerce de Paris, 1874, and Archives de Paris, D1P4 596, 1862. Rothschild's subsidiary was located at 3, Rue Scribe; see Almanach du commerce de Paris, 1887-90.

10 The church at Vétheuil, 1880, Southampton City Art Gallery; see Theo van Gogh, cit. (note 2), no. 107.

11 See Almanach du commerce de Bruxelles, 1873. The firm closed after his death in 1888; see the posthumous sale, Brussels (Leroy, de Braumere), 10-12 April 1888.

12 Cremetti (1811-?) settled in Brussels in 1852, first on the Rue Montagne Potagère, then at 58, Rue Montoyer. He dealt in paintings, prints and frames as well as photographs, and he made reproductions of various art objects; see Brussels, Archives de la Ville, registres du recensement 1856 T 278, 1866 T 894, 1876 W 506.

13 Dietrich (1855-?) began as Schmidt's employee in 1873. In August 1879 he opened his own gallery at 23a, Rue Royale; see Brussels, Archives de la Ville, registre du recensement 1866 E 1286.

14 See Brief happiness: the correspondence of Theo van Gogh and Jo Bonger, ed. Han van Crimpen, Amsterdam 1999, no. 90, Paris, 24 July 1890. Clarembaux (1844-1910) opened his Brussels gallery at 3, Rue du Congrès in June 1880 and withdrew from the business in 1909.

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- Emile Clarembaux. He appears to have admired the man's ability to eat as much as his knowledge of Belgian collections. Since the trip between Paris and Brussels was relatively short, the two could easily meet.¹⁵ Nonetheless no trace exists of any transactions between them before 1889, when Clarembaux acquired two works by Alfred Stevens from Theo. In May 1890 the latter purchased six works by Van Goyen for Clarembaux at a public auction at the Hôtel Drouot. Occasionally, the dealers tried to pool their resources when affairs proved difficult. On his way back from The Hague in July 1890, Theo met Clarembaux at the Antwerp railway station. Together they tried to sell a Diaz to a collector in the city, but without success.¹⁶

15 Theo travelled to Brussels in October 1888; see his letters to Vincent of 23 [716/T2] and 27 [718/T3] October 1888.

16 Brief happiness, cit. (note 14), nos. 82, 83 and 90; see also Theo's letter to Vincent, 14 July 1890 [905/T41 ].

Dutch contacts

In November 1873 Theo left Brussels to work at Goupil's branch in The Hague.¹⁷ It was then directed by H.G. Tersteeg, who was 25 years old at the time. He took an interest in the artists of the Hague School, and actively organised exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad. Numerous Americans, English and Belgians visited his gallery, as did his own compatriots.¹⁸ Theo made their acquaintance and transacted business with them; having proven himself worthy, he was given ever-increasing responsibilities.

The professionals he knew in The Hague naturally included his two uncles, Cent and Cor; later, in 1881 in Paris, they were among his first and best clients.¹⁹ Tersteeg, too, remained loyal to Theo right up to the end of the latter's life. There was also a certain Sala, an art dealer from Leiden.

The man Theo's brother Vincent called ‘my old friend Wisselingh’ [206/177] occupied a very special place.²⁰ Son of an art dealer established first in Amsterdam and then in The Hague,²¹ Elbert Jan van Wisselingh began his career at the Goupil gallery in the royal city, moving on to Paris before going on to work in London with the English dealer Daniel Cottier.²² In 1882 he opened a gallery at 52, Rue Laffitte, not far from the Boulevard Montmartre. Vincent thought Van Wisselingh might be a potential buyer of his own works, and suggested that Theo show him his sketches [352/289].²³ After the death of his father in 1884, Van Wisselingh left Paris in order to concentrate on the gallery in The Hague, which he would soon transform into an international business. It was during this period that he carried out the greatest number of transactions with Theo, including the purchase of three paintings by Daumier on 31 July 1890.²⁴

Later, Theo continued to do business with a number of Dutch collectors as well, for example H.D. Salomonson from Rotterdam, C P. Van Eeghen from The Hague and Pieter Langerhuizen from Bussum.²⁵ Two art lovers from The Hague enjoyed international renown, and their collections were frequently admired by visitors. One was the painter Hendrik-Willem Mesdag (fig. 1), who had brought together an exemplary selection of paintings by the Hague and Barbizon schools;²⁶ he sometimes made purchases from Theo, who actively sought his business. In the summer of 1890, Theo visited him to discuss a Corot [905/T41].²⁷ From the 1860s the banker F.H.M. Post was also a regular customer at the Goupil gallery in The

17 See Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), pp. 215-18.

18 See Dieuwertje Dekkers, ‘“Where are the Dutchmen?”: promoting the Hague School in America, 1875-1900,’ Simiolus 24 (1996), p. 68.

19 The ledgers list ten transactions under the name Van Gogh in 1881. When he retired from business, Uncle Cent devoted his time to his collection and regularly went to the French capital. In 1881 he acquired from Theo a canvas by Jacque entitled Shepherdess, undoubtedly no. 75 in his posthumous sale (Collection de feu M. Vincent Van Gogh de Princenhage/Tableaux modernes, The Hague [Pulchri Studio/C.M. van Gogh & H.G. Tersteeg], 2-3 April 1889), and he bought two more works from him in April 1884. Uncle Cor, a dealer in Amsterdam, acquired paintings from his nephew up until May 1887.

20 The quotation is from a letter of 23 February 1882. In March of that year Theo must have mentioned to his brother that Van Wisselingh was in Paris [332/275]. See also J.F. Heijbroek and E.L. Wouthuysen, Portret van een kunsthandel: de firma Van Wisselingh en zijn compagnons, 1838-heden, Zwolle & Amsterdam 1999.

21 See Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), pp. 333-35.

22 See Brian Gould, Theo van Gogh contacts: E.J. Van Wisseling, art dealer; Daniel Cottier, glass painter and decorator, London 1969.

23 Van Wisselingh went to see Vincent in August 1883 [383/318].

24 These were Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (London, The National Gallery), Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and Omnibus interior (both present locations unknown).

25 See Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), appendix 6, pp. 336-62.

26 See Fred Leeman and Hanna Penncock, Museum Mesdag: catalogue of paintings and drawings, Amsterdam & Zwolle 1996.

27 See also Brief happiness, cit. (note 14), no. 54, Amsterdam, 23 July 1890.

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Hague.²⁸ His collection deeply impressed Vincent van Gogh, who hastened to share his admiration with his brother.²⁹ For Theo, however, he was a prestigious but infrequent client. In 1881 Post purchased a painting by Troyon at the Boulevard Montmartre gallery, which he disposed of the following year. Later he sold back to Theo works by Bouguereau and Brascassat.

28 See Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), pp. 217-18.

29 In July 1882 Vincent related that he had visited the exhibition of French art from the ‘Mesdag, Post, etc’ collections and that he had seen ‘beautiful things’ [247/215]. He also later remembered seeing ‘the most beautiful’ Mauves there [503/406].

English and Scottish dealers

From the moment he settled in Brussels in 1873, Theo was in contact with a number of English dealers, whom he saw again in The Hague and then in Paris, and whom he also visited in London. He was even tempted, when things later began to go badly with his superiors in Paris, to move to England, and was encouraged in this plan by Vincent. Having worked from May 1873 to June 1874 at the London branch of Goupil's, then directed by Carl Obach,³⁰ Vincent had often described the artistic life of the city to his brother. ‘Monsieur O.’ [456/374] dealt directly with Theo after June 1873, with Schmidt, the Brussels manager, being absent. Vincent emphasised the event: ‘Mr Obach was happy to have met you’ [11/10].³¹ Theo saw Obach again in The Hague, where he came frequently³² and, of course, in Paris, home of the Goupil empire's headquarters. Although Obach left Goupil's and opened his own business in London in 1884 he maintained his relations with Theo. Thus, in 1886, he purchased from him 11 ‘landscapes and figures’ by Adolphe Monticelli for a total of 4,000 francs and then, nine months later, nine more canvases by the same artist.

Monticelli was popular with the British, and numerous dealers competed to sell his works. The Van Gogh brothers, who greatly admired this painter from Marseilles, discovered him through Alexander Reid,³³ ‘Van Gogh's Scottish friend.’³⁴ Reid was a frequent visitor to the gallery of the Parisian dealer Delarebeyrette, who owned a considerable stock of works by Monticelli.³⁵ In order to complete his education, Reid had been sent to Paris in 1887, where he worked alongside Theo at 19, Boulevard Montmartre and briefly shared in the lives of the Van Gogh brothers. Monticelli remained at the centre of commercial relations between Theo and Reid when the latter opened his ‘Société des Beaux-Arts’ in Glasgow in 1889. In September 1887 Reid purchased six canvases by Monticelli from Theo.

In London, another firm, Dowdeswell & Dowdeswell, was also interested in this painter from Marseilles.³⁶ Around 1886 they acquired ‘so many works by Monticelli that they were able to spread the rumour that they were the artist's exclusive dealers.’³⁷ They were of course privileged clients of Delarebeyrette's, but they also bought from Theo, who was one of their main connections in Paris. Dowdeswell was certainly one of the first to have launched modern art in Great Britain. In April 1883 the gallery inaugurated an impressionist exhibition organised by Durand-Ruel. Dowdeswell seems to have reserved his more ‘avantgarde’ purchases for the latter gallery. Out of the 21 works he acquired from Theo, there was only one Degas and only one Manet.

Two other London dealers were important for the Van Gogh brothers. Vincent, recounting his visit to the art

30 Obach (c. 1841-?) directed the London branch of Goupil's from around 1873 (with thanks to Martin Bailey). In circa 1884 he left the firm to begin his own business. Hoping to convince his brother to set up on his own, Vincent referred to Obach as ‘the one who waited so long, who experienced so much tension that he wound up being crushed’ [398/333]. For more on Obach see Martin Bailey, ‘Dealing in art,’ in exhib. cat. Van Gogh in England: portrait of the artist as a young man, London (Barbican Art Gallery) 1992, pp. 29-35 and note 5.

31 The letter also mentions a ‘very beautiful’ painting by Linder, perhaps an indication that Theo sold a canvas by this French painter to the London dealer.

32 See Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), p. 216, note 97; Obach purchased 39 paintings there between 1861 and 1900.

33 See Ronald Pickvance, A man of influence: Alex Reid, 1854-1928, Glasgow 1967. See also the article by Frances Fowle in this volume of the Van Gogh Museum Journal.

34 This is how he is first referred to in George A. Lucas's dairy; see The diary of George A. Lucas: an American art agent in Paris, 1857-1909, ed. Lillian M.C. Randall, 2 vols., Princeton 1979, vol. 2, p. 665.

35 On 11 January 1885 Delarebeyrette wrote to M. Piquet in Marseilles: ‘There are too many works by Monticelli in Paris, I alone have 49’; Marseilles, private archives.

36 C.W. Dowdeswell (1832-1915) was associated with his sons Charles and Walter; see Frits Lugt, Les marques de collections de dessins & d'estampes, The Hague 1956, supplement, pp. 690, 799. See also the entry on Dowdeswell in The dictionary of art, 34 vols., London 1996, vol. 9, p. 204.

37 Quoted after a letter from Giovanni Segantini to Octave Maus, 25 November 1889, reprinted in Segantini: trente années de vie artistique européenne, ed. Annie-Paule Quinsac, Paris 1985, no. 887, p. 740. In 1888, Dowdeswell organised an exhibition of 75 works by Monticelli; see Charles and Mario Garibaldi, Monticelli, Geneva 1991, p. 183.

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dealers' district in London in 1876, occasionally evoked their memory. First of all there was Th. Richardson: ‘Then I chanced upon Mr Read and Mr Richardson, who were already old friends. Last year, around this same time, Mr Richardson was in Paris and we took a walk together in the Père Lachaise Cemetery’ [92/76]. This ‘Read’ has not been identified, but Vincent, who worked with Richardson in 1873 at Goupil's in Paris, would again see the man he referred to as ‘the travelling representative for Goupil and Co.’ [276/239]. Richardson frequently went to the branch in The Hague where Theo worked.³⁸ Later they would do more business together, with Richardson purchasing from him works by Pasini, Monticelli, and Monet.³⁹ Vincent also liked another London dealer and reminded Theo that he knew ‘Wallis well’ when he asked his brother to find a buyer for one of his watercolours [512/413]. Henry Wallis and his son Thomas directed the French Gallery.⁴⁰ For many years Henry travelled all over the continent, visiting collectors and dealers. Theo could have met him in Brussels in 1873, where the American agent Samuel P. Avery noted his presence,⁴¹ or in The Hague, as he was associated with Tersteeg.⁴² Wallis may have bought paintings by Corcos from Theo, as the young dealer had the exclusive rights to sell the works of this fashionable painter.

38 In the hierarchy of important clients at the Hague branch in the years 1861 to 1900, Richardson follows Henry Wallis with 49 transactions; only two of these took place during Theo's employment there, however; see Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), p. 216, note 97.

39 With 15 transactions Richardson was a good client of Theo's in Paris. On 21 April 1888 he purchased a canvas by Monet Trees in winter: view of Bennecourt (Columbus, OH, The Columbus Museum of Art); see also Theo van Gogh, cit. (note 2), no. 110.

40 Henry Wallis retired from business in 1871 and his son Thomas took over the gallery; see Jeremy Maas, Gambart: prince of the Victorian art world, London, 1975, p. 270.

41 On 25 July 1873 Wallis was in Brussels on business, and three days later he visited Goupil's in The Hague; see The diaries of Samuel P. Avery, art dealer (1871-1882), ed. Madeleine Fidell-Beaufort, New York 1979, pp. 189-90.

42 Stolwijk, op. cit. (note 5), p. 216, note 97; Stolwijk cites Wallis & Son as among the principal clients of the Hague branch between 1861 and 1900, with 67 transactions for a total of 42.694,02 guilders; 11 of these took place in the period 1873 to 1879.

The American market

In the years following the Civil War, numerous Americans became prosperous businessmen and began to buy works of art. Some of them developed into important collectors as well as discerning supporters of museums. They chose exquisite decorations for the palatial mansions they constructed, and their painting galleries were greatly admired by their fellow citizens. Increasingly informed by the art press of the numerous Old Master fakes and mediocre works being sent from Europe, collectors became more exacting and turned to living artists. The market had enormous potential. In 1846 Goupil established himself in New York, where he opened two galleries.⁴³ His International Art Union was entrusted to William Schaus, and Michael Knoedler was charged with the promotion of prints. Each founded his own gallery towards the end of the 1850s.⁴⁴ However, they continued to maintain their commercial relations with Goupil. While Schaus only occasionally purchased from Theo, Knoedler was his best client among the American art dealers. In all 28 transactions took place between them. Among the painters whose works were traded were Diaz, Corot, Dupré, Landelle and, of course, Corcos. Roland Knoedler, Michael's son, regularly travelled to Europe in order to renew his stock - in the collaboration with his Paris agent, a certain Hamman.⁴⁵ In 1890, he opened a branch of his New York gallery at 3, Rue Scribe.

In Paris, George Lucas served as the agent for a great number of American art dealers and collectors, who appreciated his familiarity with European artistic circles.⁴⁶ A client of Uncle Cent's, after 1881 he faithfully stopped in to see Theo, his friend's nephew. Their dealings mainly concerned bronzes by Barye, which were highly appreciated by Lucas's compatriots, particularly the Baltimore collector, William T. Walters.⁴⁷ Theo kept Lucas informed about the important pieces he acquired.⁴⁸ Lucas also

43 See Hélène Lafont-Couturier, ‘“Le bon livre” ou la portée éducative des images éditées et publiées par la maison Goupil,’ in idem (ed.), Etat des lieux, vol. 1, Bordeaux 1994, pp. 30-31.

44 Knoedler (1826-1878) opened a gallery in 1856, Schaus opened his around 1858. William Schaus retired in 1886. He died a year later in New York. His nephew took over as his successor.

45 Little is known of Hamman except that he worked for Georges Petit.

46 George A. Lucas (1824-1909); see The diary, cit. (note 34), vol. 1, pp. 3-42.

47 Ibid., pp. 13-14. See also Glenn F. Benge, The sculpture of Antoine-Louis Barye in American collections: with a catalogue raisonné (diss., University of Iowa, 1969).

48 The diary, cit. (note 34), vol. 2, p. 710, 10 May 1890: ‘Call from [...] Van Gogh to say had bought Martin Barye collection.’

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bought watercolours and prints. Theo specialised in original engravings, and Lucas came to his gallery regularly for these. He also notes having seen works by Monticelli (1888) and Daumier (1890) exhibited there.

The art dealers from across the Atlantic generally debarked in England in April. In two or three months they made the rounds of the principal European artistic centres, visiting galleries and artists' studios in order to gather up a choice of works to bring back to the United States. On 7 June 1890, two New York dealers introduced themselves to Theo at his gallery. One was Christ Delmonico, a client of Durand-Ruel's who in just a few days purchased works by Diaz, Raffaëlli and Pasini.⁴⁹ This representative of the firm Reichard & Co., who acquired 27,800 francs worth of art between 1882 and 1890, chose a seascape by Courbet and a work by Troyon on his very first day. The other New Yorker, Adolf Kohn, directed a company located at 166 Fifth Avenue. Before 1884 he had already purchased from Theo works by Daubigny, Mauve and Corcos, who was very much in vogue in America.

Ever since the Exposition Universelle of 1867 Samuel P. Avery had regularly returned to Europe. Theo must have met him in The Hague where, as an important client, he dined at Tersteeg's home.⁵⁰ In Paris Avery dealt mainly with Georges Petit and with the Goupil gallery on the Rue Chaptal. He had occasional contact with Theo, however, as did James S. Inglis, director of the New York branch of Cottier's in London.⁵¹

The enterprising Philadelphia dealer Charles Field Haseltine (fig. 2) was also a client of Theo's.⁵² Haseltine actively supported American painters and became interested

fig. 2
Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Charles Field Haseltine, c. 1901, Montclair Art Museum, Florence O.R. Lang Acquisition Fund

49 See Anne Distel, Les collectionneurs des impressionnistes, Paris 1989, p. 242.

50 The diaries of Samuel P. Avery, cit. (note 41), p. 257; see also Madeleine Fidell-Beaufort and Jeanne K. Welcher, ‘Some views of art buying in New York in the 1870s and 1880s,’ Oxford Art Journal 5 (1982), no. 1, pp. 48-55.

51 Inglis died in New York in 1908. He became director of the branch in 1873. Following Cottier's death in 1891 he took over New York gallery entirely; see New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ex-collection file (with thanks to Helen Taylor Lane, The Thomas J. Watson Library). While in Paris he stayed at the Hôtel de Turin. In July 1887 he sold Theo the Bay of Naples by Renoir (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; see also Theo van Gogh, cit. [note 2], p. 216) and purchased a work by Carrière, Child with feeding bottle (present location unknown).

52 Charles Field Haseltine (1840-1915); see Sally Mills, ‘Of art and the Haseltines: a family affair,’ in exhib. cat. Expressions of place: the art of William Stanley Haseltine, San Francisco (The Fine Arts Museum) 1992-93, pp. 53-69.

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in European art relatively early. With the purchase of 11 canvases between August 1881 and 1885, for a total of 35,550 francs, he was one of Theo's most important customers. Among the painters whose works he chose were well known names like Jean-Léon Gérôme, whose Excursion of the harem (Norfolk, VA, The Chrysler Museum of Art) he acquired in 1885.⁵³

While American collectors often entrusted their transactions to intermediaries, they also made purchases during their own voyages in Europe. Some came from Saint Louis, like the businessman J.W. Kauffman or the lawyer George E. Leighton, others from New York, like G.N. Curtis, Christ Kahn or the distinguished Latin scholar George N. Olcott,⁵⁴ not to mention the famous railway magnates Vanderbilt⁵⁵ and Johnston⁵⁶ - just a few of those influential Americans who frequented Theo's gallery. All were actively wooed by many of the Paris dealers. Some, like William Crocker, a San Francisco banker, were beginning to be seduced by impressionism. A regular client of Durand-Ruel's, he bought a Dupré from Theo,⁵⁷ while A. Pope,⁵⁸ a Chicago industrialist, acquired two works by Monet and a Carrière in 1889.

53 Reproduced in Theo van Gogh, cit. (note 2), no. 61.

54 On Leighton and Olcott see Who was who in America, Chicago [1996], vol. 1, pp. 719 and 913 respectively

55 In his mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York, William Henry Vanderbilt had a gallery with an overhead lighting system installed for his painting collection, which was open to the public. His eldest son, Cornelius (1843-1899), was one of the founders of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has not been possible to determine which of these two Vanderbilts purchased from Theo.

56 John Taylor Johnston (1823-1893) was also one of the founders of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; see Who was who, cit. (note 54) p. 437. See also Dekkers, op. cit. (note 18), p. 61 and Lois Marie Fink, ‘French art in the United States, 1850-1870: three dealers and collectors,’ Gazette des Beaux-Arts 92 (September 1978), p. 94.

57 William Henry Crocker (1861-1937); see Who was who, cit. (note 54) p. 277. The work he purchased was Dupré's Feeding time (Jen-te-Village, Taiwan, Chi-Mei Fine Art Museum); see also Theo van Gogh, cit. (note 2), no. 65.

58 Alfred Atmore Pope (1842-1913); see Who was who, cit. (note 54) p. 982.

The Parisian market

The ledgers indicate that Theo worked with approximately a third of all Parisian dealers, most of whom, like him, specialised in works of contemporary art. Many sought to put artists under contract, which could be advantageous to both sides. They also tried to have a great number of works by the same painter or sculptor in stock, as was the case with Delarebeyrette for Monticelli,⁵⁹ and Theo for, among others, Corot. Other actors on the scene included restorers, framers and print dealers who sold works of art as a sideline.

As we have seen, Theo maintained commercial relations with his neighbour Alexandre Bernheim-jeune, but also with another dealer who was widely known and who ‘carried himself like a gentleman’: Hector Brame, who was located on the Boulevard des Italiens.⁶⁰ This former associate of Durand-Ruel's sold works by Corot and the painters of the Barbizon School, but Theo also found canvases by Degas at his gallery. Both Bernheimjeune and Brame were soon to move to the Rue Laffitte, the entire street being ‘transformed into what seemed to be a long gallery of paintings.’⁶¹ Other dealers already established there with whom Theo did business included Salvador Mayer, called ‘la Boule’; Suret; Legrand; Tempelaere; Detrimont; Diot and, for a short time, Van Wisselingh.

The commerce of art was fixed throughout the entire district surrounding the Hôtel Drouot. Theo participated in numerous sales there, some of which were organised by Boussod & Valadon. After 1887, when he had a greater autonomy in running the gallery, Theo purchased works by Corot (6), Diaz (1), Chintreuil (2), as well as Manet (2) and Monet (7). Theo dealt with Oppenheim and Gérard fils, who were on the Rue Le Pelletier. Former Goupil employees Arnold and Tripp, as well as Pierre-Firmin Martin, had galleries on the Rue Saint Georges. Nearby, on the Rue de la Grange Batelière, were Bourgeois and Guyotin. Delarebeyrette had his business on the Rue de Provence. Tedesco was in the Rue de la Victoire, and Sedelmeyer in the Rue de La Rochefoucault.

59 Joseph Delarebeyrette (?-1886). From 1870 to 1879 his gallery was located 23, Rue de la Pépinière, then at 98, Boulevard Haussmann; he moved to 43, Rue de Provence in 1881; see Almanach de commerce de Paris. After his death, his son Gabriel took over the gallery; see Archives de Paris, DQ7 12470.

60 Hector Brame (1831-1899). These were the words used by Emile Zola to describe Naudet (who was certainly modelled after Brame) in his novel L'oeuvre, which appeared in 1886; see Nancy Yeide, ‘An art dealer in 19th-century Paris,’ Apollo (March 1998), pp. 40-47.

61 Frédéric Henriet, ‘Le musées des rues: le marchand de tableaux,’ L'Artiste (15 November 1854), p. 114.

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Higher up on the Butte Montmartre, the restorer Gillet was located on the Rue Houdon, and there was a private dealer, Portier, at 54, Rue Lepic. It was to the latter that Theo showed The potato eaters (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum), which Vincent had sent him to sell.⁶² Obviously, Goupil's account books make no mention of Père Tanguy on the Rue Clauzel, where, following his marriage, Theo stored his brother's canvases. Works by Cézanne were also displayed in this art supplies shop, but Theo does not seem to have taken any interest in them.

The neighbourhood of the Opéra and Gare Saint Lazare became very fashionable in these years. In 1870 Goupil inaugurated his most prestigious gallery on the very attractive Avenue de l'Opéra, and Tedesco opened a gallery there as well. Nearby, on the Rue Scribe, were Rothschild and eventually Knoedler. Slightly further away, on the Chaussée d'Antin, were Bague & Co. and the art expert Barre. Henri Garnier was on the Rue Mogador, and Cottée and Thomas were located on the Boulevard Malesherbes. In 1882 Georges Petit celebrated the opening of his sumptuous new gallery 8, Rue de Sèze.

On the Left Bank, near the Rue du Bac, ‘the Rue Laffitte of the Faubourg Saint Germain’⁶³ in the 1850s, there were now fewer dealers. However, Theo worked with the painter and restorer Charles Mercié on the Rue de Lille. Montaignac, a long-time employee of Petit's,⁶⁴ moved into 1, Rue Christine around 1886.

To this inventory of Theo's relations with the most prestigious galleries in the major European capitals, should be added his transactions in Marseilles. While occupying a modest place in Theo's business dealings, the famous port was nevertheless unique among French provincial cities. As it supplied Theo with at least five clients, Monticelli's native town was an important market. Artist, writer, expert and antiques dealer Paul Martin organised exhibitions at the Marseilles Cercle Artistique. In 1883 he purchased a work by Roybet from Theo. On 24 December 1884 he acquired one by Pasini and two by Ziem.⁶⁵ Other clients included Arthur Warrain, who lived at 6, Cours Pierre Puget, and a certain Heilborn, a man of independent means, who lived at 2, Rue Lafon.⁶⁶ In 1886 Theo acquired 11 ‘landscapes and figures’ - including the charming Italian Woman (Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum) - for 3,500 francs from César Boyer, undoubtedly the owner of the Café de l'Univers where Monticelli was a regular customer.⁶⁷ According to the ledgers, another art collector from Marseilles, Viellard, like Bartdemy, sold Theo two canvases by Monticelli in 1886. Perhaps these transactions were what inspired Vincent to think of settling in Monticelli's city as an art dealer.

There are very few indications of the nature of Theo's relations with his other Parisian colleagues. Pissarro tells us that Durand-Ruel resented what he considered Theo's too-frequent incursions into the impressionist market. Theo bought eight paintings from him on 9 April 1888 - four works by Georges Michel, three by Monet and one Pissarro.⁶⁸ Several allusions in the family correspondence hint at Theo's friendship with the Belgian Clarembaux, but there is too little information to make any more comments here.

62 For over a year the Van Gogh brothers lived in the same building as Alphonse Portier (1841-1902).

63 Frédéric Henriet, ‘Le musées des rues: le marchand de tableaux,’ L'Artiste (1 December 1854), p. 133.

64 According to Pissarro, ‘He occupied the same position at the gallery of Georges Petit that Van Gogh held at Boussod & Valadon, he was their right hand man. He seemed to me to be intelligent and likeable’; see the artist's letter to his son Lucien, reprinted in Correspondance de Camille Pissarro, ed. Janine Bailly-Herzberg, 5 vols., Paris 1986, vol. 3, p. 47, Eragny, 23 March 1891.

65 Paul Martin (1830-1903); see Jean René Soubiran, exhib. cat. Le paysage provençal et l'Ecole de Marseille avant l'impressionnisme 1845-1874, Toulon (Musée de Toulon) 1992, p. 327, notes 55-58. With thanks to Jacqueline Henry for having called this dealer to my attention.

66 See L'indicateur marseillais, 1882 This information was kindly provided by Mme G. Cenda, Archives de Marseilles.

67 In Goupil's ledgers, Boyer has a Parisian address: 62, Rue Rodier. He is not, however, listed in the Almanach du commerce de Paris, the cadastral registers or in the electoral lists. Perhaps he had a correspondent at this address and the reference is nevertheless to César Boyer, who had several works by Monticelli. On Monticelli's café life see Charles and Mario Garibaldi, op. cit. (note 37), p. 74.

68 Durand Ruel's brouillard of 6 April 1888 (Paris, Durand-Ruel archives) reads: ‘sold to Boussod and Valadon, seven [sic] paintings, no. 1565 - Pissarro, View of Pontoise; no. 1566 - Monet, Thaw at Argenteuil; no. 1567 - Monet, Sailboats at Argenteuil; no. 1568 - Michel, Mill; no. 1569 - Michel, Beach; no. 1570 - Michel, Port; no. 1571 - Michel, Landscape; no. 1351 - Monet Cliffs.’ The total value of 10,500 francs.

Art lovers of traditional taste

Among the names in Goupil's account books are several members of the aristocracy - traditionally collectors - and, in greater numbers, the financial barons, industrial magnates and important businessmen of the day, as

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well as collectors with more modest means: musicians, literati, doctors, bureaucrats, etc. While much research has been done concerning the collectors of impressionism, little is known of those who bought of ‘Salon’ paintings or the Barbizon and Hague schools. We can only single out a few personalities.

Theo's client with the most expensive taste was an unscrupulous businessman named Cornélius Herz, also known as Doctor Cornélius (fig. 3). Made a grand officer of the Legion d'honneur in 1886 and a friend of the president of the Republic, Jules Grévy, he participated in some of the most dubious affairs of his time.⁶⁹ When the Panama scandal broke in 1891, Pissarro exclaimed: ‘This Cornélius Herz, what a formidable and grandiose rat!’⁷⁰ He was only able to save his skin by fleeing to England. Herz bought a great number of works of art in a very short time. In 1887, during the struggle between Herz and the banker Jacques de Reinach, the latter estimated that Herz's gallery of paintings was worth 800,000 francs.⁷¹ Herz bought from the most prestigious dealers in Paris, such as Georges Petit and Durand-Ruel, who interceded for him with Monet. Between 1884 and 1886 he spent more than 200,000 francs for works he purchased from Theo, who provided him with over 56 canvases. The names were those of already established painters. The Barbizon School was represented by two pieces by Daubigny and works by Rousseau and Troyon. Boussod & Valadon's ‘house’ painters were well represented as well: Gérôme (3), Bargue (4) and Corcos (2), but there were also pictures by Henner, Carolus Duran, Meisonnier, Isabey, etc.⁷² Herz's collection contained no masterpieces but rather many works that were considered good value according to the criteria of the period. His more modern purchases - i.e. of Monet - were made through the intermediary of Durand-Ruel.

fig. 3
M and Mme Cornélius Herz, cover of L'Illustration (28 January 1893), Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, collection Laruelle

69 Cornélius Herz (1845-1898). Herz's parents emigrated to the United States, while he remained in Europe to study in Heidelberg and later in France - where he failed to finish his medical training - before leaving to try his luck in America; see Jean-Yves Mollier, Le scandale de Panama, Paris 1991, pp. 165-208.

70 Correspondance de Camille Pissarro, cit. (note 64), p. 292.

71 Mollier, op. cit. (note 69) p. 339.

72 Having gone into exile, Herz sold part of his collection in Paris in September 1893; see Mollier, op. cit. (note 69) p. 428 and note 54. His widow put more up for auction in 1899: Catalogue of the collection of very choice modern French pictures [...] The property of Mrs Cornelius Herz, London, (Christie, Manson & Woods), 15-17 April 1899.

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fig. 4
Benjamin-Constant (Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant, called), Portrait of Alfred Chauchard, 1896, Paris, Musée du Louvre (photograph courtesy of the RMN)

Taking into account the purchases at the Goupil branch in The Hague during the six years that Theo worked there, his most important client was indisputably Cornélis de Gheus d'Elzenwalle.⁷³ He lived in Brussels, and most probably began frequenting Uncle Hein's gallery there in 1873. He knew Theo sufficiently well to send him a very personal letter of condolence following Vincent's death.⁷⁴ During the period under discussion here, when Theo was the manager of the gallery at 19, Boulevard Montmartre, de Gheus made numerous acquisitions during three years, then disappeared from the account books, reappearing with fewer purchases between 1887 and 1889, in all 37 for a total of 134,000 francs. It should be noted, however, that he often resold the works soon after purchasing them; for example, he disposed of Jules Breton's Woman of the Artois⁷⁵ in August 1881, having acquired it only in March of the same year. In 1888 he sold more than he bought. It is impossible to know whether this was in order to make some major purchase, if the canvases no longer pleased him, or if he was having financial difficulties. At any rate, his taste never evolved. Among the artists he favoured were Corot (9), Daubigny (6), Heyerdhal (4), Maris (4), Corcos (2), Mauve and Breton.

While the collections of Herz or De Gheus have long been forgotten,⁷⁶ the gallery of prestigious canvases put together by Alfred Chauchard (fig. 4) is now prominently displayed at the Musée d'Orsay. Having amassed a fortune, Chauchard left the world of business in 1885 in order to devote himself entirely to philanthropic endeavours and his art collection.⁷⁷ He was a good client of Boussod & Valadon, but since he dealt mainly with the directors, he was rarely seen at 19, Boulevard Monmartre. He did, however, buy a Diaz from Theo in 1889 and a Carrière the next year.⁷⁸

73 He bought four paintings between 1873 and 1879 and Stolwijk (op. cit. [note 5], p. 216, note 97) ranks him among the principal clients of the Hague branch in the years 1861 to 1900, with 12 transactions for a total of 23,731 guilders. A doctor of law, Camillus Julianus Degheus was born in 1831 at Voormezele near Ypres. When he died at his home in Ixelles on 12 May 1912 he was declared ‘without profession.’ With thanks to Annick Vandenbilcke of the Archives de la Ville d'Ypres, and Françoise Fontaine, archivist of the Commune d'Ixelles.

74 See Ronald Pickvance (ed.), ‘A great artist is dead’: letters of condolence on Vincent van Gogh's death, Zwolle 1992, no. 11: ‘I know the affectionate dedication that you showed for this brother [...].’

75 This picture was last auctioned in the late 1980s (under the title The water carrier); see New York (Sotheby's), 23 May 1989, lot 29.

76 De Gheus's collection remains particularly mysterious.

77 Alfred Chauchard made his fortune with the Magasins du Louvre department store. He bequeathed his collection to the French state in 1906; see Catalogue de la collection Chauchard, Paris 1910. Millet's Angélus, purchased for 800,000 francs in 1890, was the most famous work he owned.

78 Diaz de la Peña's Venus and cupid was purchased on 4 July 1889 (Paris, Musée d'Orsay); Carrière's Mother holding her child on 17 February 1890 (present location unknown).

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Other more modest collectors were regulars at Theo's gallery too, for example the well-known perfume manufacturer Edmond Coudray.⁷⁹ He appears to have had confidence in the young art dealer, who put his name in his address book. Coudray turned to Theo for advice when the painter Pierre Emile Metzmacher, whose First steps present location unknown) he owned, asked permission to paint a replica after its success at the Salon of 1878.⁸⁰ Between 1883 and 1890, Coudray spent 27,225 francs on 12 paintings. He favoured genre scenes by Toulmouche, Salmson and Roybet, as well as landscapes by Jongkind, Lépine and Jacque.

No correspondence has survived from most of the collectors who were Theo's clients. Sometimes an address or a few indications of identity are the only trace that remains. Victor Dobbé, who spent 43,250 francs for 15 works by Jongkind, Dupré and Isabey between 1881 and 1886, was independently wealthy. The catalogue of the sale following his death confirms his love of Corot, Dupré, Diaz and Troyon, but also of the genre scenes by Roybet that were so popular at the time.⁸¹ In some cases, an address or an initial in the account books next to a surname can provide information about the identity of the collector. J. Cahen, for example, was the administrator of a company of public works. He bought and sold several pictures beginning in 1883. Frédéric Flersheim, owner of a private mansion on the Boulevard Malesherbes, purchased a nymph by Henner in 1882 and a painting by Jules Dupré in 1885. Through Theo, Félix Godillot, a grain and flour broker, ordered two portraits of his wife from the painter Corcos in 1882 and in 1885.⁸²

79 Together with his father, Edmond Auguste Coudray directed the Société Coudray et fils. Their shop was located at 13, Rue d'Enghien and their factory was in Saint Denis.

80 Salon of 1878, no. 1578, reproduced in L'Illustration (12 April 1879). The artist wrote to Theo: ‘Mr Coudray, to whom I said all that, leaves the decision to you, assuring me that if you see no harm for the original it would be as good as done’; see Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, family correspondence, letter b 1209 V/1962. Coudray sold the Metzmacher back to Theo on 11 October 1890.

81 Louis Antoine Victor Dobbé was born in Montdidier in the Somme around 1813 and died on 20 May 1888 at his home in Paris; see Archives de Paris, 5MI3 1223. His collection was auctioned: Collection de Feu M. Dobbé - Tableaux modernes [...], Paris (Hôtel Drouot), 18-19 February 1889. The sale was directed by his son-in-law, the auctioneer Couturier.

82 J. Cahen, 8, Rue de Berlin (Archives de Paris, D1P4 115, 1876); Frédéric Flersheim, 32, Boulevard Haussmann and, from 1883, 124, Boulevard Malesherbes (Archives de Paris, D1P4 681 1876); Félix Godillot was the brother of Alexis Godillot, who donated drawings and objects to the Louvre (see exhib. cat. Les donateurs du Louvre, Paris [Musée du Louvre] 1989, p. 219). On the portrait commission see Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, family correspondence, letters b 1143 V/1962 and b 1144 V/1962.

Some collectors of modern painting

Converted to the painting of the impressionists, Theo became one of their ardent supporters and from 1887 tried to find clients for them. He convinced certain collectors to sell off their ‘outmoded’ works and modernise their collections. Gustave Goupy, who directed a leather and varnish company in the Rue Charlot, had purchased works from Theo beginning in 1885 (Miralles and Kaemmerer).⁸³ Around 1888, he became interested in Courbet, Besnard and Monet. He bought two canvases by Monet. Following Theo's death he continued as a customer of his successor, Joyant, and began to buy works by Degas, Monet and Sisley. Other collectors show a similar evolution. Cheramy, solicitor in the first magistrate's court and active in various arts organisations acquired his first Degas from Durand-Ruel in 1888,⁸⁴ while his purchases from Theo concerned less ‘modern’ artists such as Corot (4) or Marilhat.

With 90 transactions at Theo's gallery, the banker Victor Desfossés was an exceptional client.⁸⁵ Desfossés lived in a private mansion at 44, Rue de Douai, a stone's throw from the Rue de Laval where Theo resided until May 1886. Desfossés had acquired a Manet at the Salon of 1879. Among his purchases from Theo were works by artists such as Bargue (4) and Pinchart, but also some very beautiful paintings by Corot (8), Daubigny (5), Millet and Delacroix. Soon, he sold off these ‘old’ paintings in order to buy more daring canvases. Starting in 1885 he acquired works by Monet (3), Degas (1), Pissarro (3), Sisley (1), and Renoir (1).

83 Gustave Goupy (1844-c. 1897).

84 Paul Arthur Chéramy (1840-1912) was the administrator of the Société des Amis et Artistes de l'Opéra, an honorary member of the Société Nationale des Beauxarts, and vice-president of the Société des Amis du Musée du Luxembourg. On the Degas purchase see Henri Loyrette, Degas, Paris 1991, pp. 476-77 and 743-44.

85 Victor Antoine Desfossés (1835-1899) was promoted to the rank of chevalier d'honneur in 1885; see Paris, Archives nationales de France, dossier of the Légion d'honneur, LH 2777/83.

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Early collectors of impressionism and post-impressionism

Other collectors took even greater risks and purchased the work of young unknowns like Gauguin. Among them was Eugène Dupuis, whom Theo called ‘the loyal Dupuis’;⁸⁶ he was a financier who frequently acquired ‘modern’ pictures. He bought 20 canvases between May 1887 and September 1890. There were not many collectors who owned four Gauguins in 1888. Just as early on, he added paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, Degas and above all Pissarro to his collection.⁸⁷ Another dedicated amateur was Hermann Heilbuth who resided in Hamburg and Copenhagen. He collected Degas and Monet,⁸⁸ and purchased a canvas by Monet and another by De Nittis from Theo in December 1889.

Among the other good clients for ‘modernist’ painting was Paul Gallimard, a ‘highly valuable collector,’⁸⁹ who sought to purchase two canvases by Vincent he had seen at Père Tanguy's. His friend Gustave Geffroy contacted Theo on the subject in May 1888.⁹⁰ Later Gallimard sold Theo a work by Héreau and one by Dupré in order to purchase a Monet and a Degas.⁹¹ In the following months he acquired three other works by Degas and one by Pissarro. He sold off works by Daubigny, Bergeret, Bernier and Van Marcke de Lummen. Paul Aubry, a wealthy merchant, was also a collector of impressionism. In the years 1887 and 1888 he purchased three works by Monet and a Pissarro from Theo.⁹² Owner of a sugar refinery, Emile Boivin built a private mansion in the new Quartier d'Europe district in 1880. A client of Petit, Montaignac and Durand-Ruel, he also bought from

fig. 5
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait of Louis Bouglé, 1898, Paris, Musée d'Orsay (photograph courtesy of the RMN)

86 Letter from Theo to Camille Pissarro, 30 September 1890, quoted in Lili Jampoller, ‘Theo van Gogh and Camille Pissarro: correspondence and an exhibition,’ Simiolus 16 (1986), p. 60. The cadastral register for 96, Boulevard Voltaire gives Dupuis's profession as ‘keeping accounts for securities transactions,’ and his place of work as 22, Rue Drouot (Archives de Paris, D1P4 1230); on his death certificate he is listed as ‘Dupuis, Jean Baptiste Casimir, 39 years old, banker’ (Archives de Paris, death certificate of 29 November 1890, no. 3981). He had no descendants and his estate was declared in abeyance (Archives de Paris, DQ8 1798).

87 Pissarro considered him to be his best collector; see the artist's letter to his son Lucien, reprinted in Correspondence de Camille Pissarro, cit. (note 64), vol. 2, p. 378, Paris, 23 December 1890. He wrote further: ‘What is particularly sad, is that this man - who was too honest - committed suicide because he thought he was lost.’

88 See Stefan Pucks, ‘Germany and impressionism,’ in exhib. cat. Collecting impressionism, Atlanta (High Museum of Art), Seattle (Art Museum) & Denver (Art Museum) 1999, p. 62.

89 Octave Mirbeau, ‘A qui de droit,’ in Des artistes, Paris 1886, p. 334.

90 ‘The other day I entered the shop of M. Tanguy right after you had left. I was with a friend who would like to acquire two canvases by Vincent van Gogh, and who would like to see you about this’; see Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, family correspondence, Gustave Geffroy to Theo van Gogh, Paris, 29 May 1888, letter b 1199 V/1962.

91 Monet, Pyramid at Port Coton (Embraport, Fondation Rau pour le Tiers-Monde) and Degas, Races New York, Whitney Collection).

92 He appears on the lists of voters from 1879 to 1896 as ‘Aubry, Paul; born 8 February 1842 in Paris, merchant, 16, Boulevard Maillot.’ His business must have been a prosperous one, since the census records show a growing number of household servants; I would like to thank Sophie Rouyer, Archives de la Ville de Neuilly for this information. Roger Peyre wrote in his introduction to the posthumous sale of Aubry's collection: ‘His enlightened judgment brought together works - which, while in the taste of the day, and sometimes of the next day - were nevertheless, on their own merit, protected from capricious changes of fashion’; see Catalogue de tableaux modernes, aquarelles, pastels, dessins par Bonvin, Daumier, Degas, Harpignies, Jongkind, Monet, Sisley, Vignon etc. provenant de la collection de feu M.P.A., Paris (Galerie Georges Petit), 10 May 1897, pp. 1-8.

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Theo: from 1887 he acquired canvases by Degas, including Woman seated beside a vase of flowers (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), and work by Monet and Raffaëlli. Boivin also purchased directly from artists like Sisley.⁹³ The journalist Henry Poidatz sold Theo 20 paintings from his collection in May 1886. The same day he purchased works by Daubigny, Millet and Dupré; he then he acquired a Boldini and two works by Monet in 1887. His last purchases from Theo were of paintings by Courbet and Monet in 1888. He organised a public sale of his collection in 1888, and then began collecting anew.⁹⁴

Several dealer colleagues who also collected put their faith in Theo. Eugène Blot, a merchant and art lover who later developed into an art dealer himself, frequented early traders in impressionism such as Portier,⁹⁵ Père Martin and, of course, Durand-Ruel. In reference to the latter he quoted Tanguy: ‘Around this great gallery there were the small dealers,’ adding: ‘there was also Carmentron, associated with the Widow Martin [no relation to Père Martin].’⁹⁶ Blot does not mention Theo, even though he bought a canvas by Vignon from him in 1886, and later, in 1890, a work by Gauguin. Recruited by Goupil's in 1882, Michel Manzi directed the print workshop in Asnières.⁹⁷ A friend of Degas and the sculptor Bartholomé, Manzi collected works by them but also by Monet, Raffaëlli and Daumier. He maintained friendly relations with Theo and was also a client.⁹⁸ He 1888 he acquired a canvas by Gysis, the next year he purchased three more ‘modern’ paintings by Monet and Raffaëlli, and finally a Daumier (Moscow, Tretiakov Gallery) in 1890.

Among Theo's other clients was Louis Bouglé (fig. 5), a friend of Toulouse-Lautrec and Joyant. He purchased three paintings by Monet and three by Pissarro between 1888 and 1889.⁹⁹ Léon Clapisson was a customer of Durand-Ruel's, but he also bought from Theo.¹⁰⁰ Raoul Guillemard, judge at the commercial court of the Seine, purchased Monet's Pine trees at Cap d'Antibes (Switzerland, private collection) during Theo's exhibition of these canvases organised in 1888.

One of Theo's last clients was the national museum in Oslo, which acquired Rain, Etretat (Oslo, Nasjonal galleriet) from among the pictures Theo sent to the city's annual autumn art exhibition in 1890; these also included works by Pissarro, Degas and another Monet.¹⁰¹ He launched this adventure with the aid of several Norwegian painters. On 6 October 1890, Erik Werenskiold announced the arrival of the paintings: ‘We will make every effort to keep one of the works by Monet in this country. Please tell me your best price just in case.’¹⁰² This was the first impressionist canvas to enter a Scandinavian public collection.

After sixteen years of activity as an art dealer, Theo had considerably widened his scope due to his good relations with artists. His dream was to open his own gallery, as so many other employees of the major galleries had done. Had he had lived to fulfil this dream his career would have been similar to the careers of his uncles.

93 Jules-Emile Boivin (1830-1909) took over from his father as head of the family business. For Boivin and Degas see Loyrette, op. cit. (note 84), p. 478 and note 229.

94 Henry Poidatz Sannois (1854-1905) was a specialist in political economy; he contributed to the Petit Jounal, among others, and became its general secretary in 1884; see Paris, Archives Nationales de France, LH2184/53. At the end of his life, he took over the direction of the daily paper Le Matin. On the sale see Vente Poidatz et autres, Paris (Hôtel Drouot), 15 March 1888. See also Thomson, op. cit. (note 2) p. 67.

95 Portier sold Theo pictures by Cals, Monet, Renoir, Jongkind and purchased from him Chintreuil, Girardet and two Corots.

96 Eugène Blot, Histoire d'une collection de tableaux modernes: 50 ans de peinture (de 1882 à 1932), Paris [1934], n.p. Anne Distel kindly pointed out this reference to me.

97 Thérèse Burollet, ‘Degas, Bartholomé, Manzi, au coeur d'un cercle d'amis fidèles’ in exhib. cat. Degas, Boldini, Toulouse-Lautre: portraits inédits par Michel Manzi, Bordeaux (Musée Goupil) & Albi (Musée Toulouse-Lautrec) 1997, pp. 33-42.

98 See Brief happiness, cit. (note 14), no. 83, Paris, 19 July 1890.

99 Bouglé was a sales representative for the Simpson company (makers of bicycle chains) and an amateur racing cyclist under the name of Spoke.

100 Clapisson (1836-1894); see Anne Distel, ‘Portrait de Monsieur Clapisson en mécène,’ in exhib. cat. Les portraits de Renoir: impression d'une époque, Ottawa (Musées des Beaux-Arts du Canada) 1997, pp. 76-87.

101 The catalogue of the exhibition lists the following: ‘Monet, no. 87, The rocks at Belle-Isle (1,600 kr) and no. 88, Etretat, rainy weather (1,300 kr); Pisarro [sic], no. 125, Conversation (600 kr); Degas, no. 190, Dancers (pastel) (900 kr). With thanks to Birgit Jordan, librarian at the Nasjonalgalleriet.

102 For the letter see Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation, family correspondence, Erik Werenskiold to Theo van Gogh, 6 October 1890, letter b 1196V/1962. The year before, Theo had shown this artist some canvases by Vincent; see his letter of 16 July 1889 [793/T12].