Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890) Lot n° 32

Bald-Headed Orphan Man, Facing Right, Signed 'Vincent' bottom right, pencil and black wash on paper Sheet size: 12 13/16 x 10 1/4 in. (32.5 x 26cm) Executed in January 1883.Collection of Dr. H.P. Bremmer, The Hague, the Netherlands. By descent in the family. E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Acquired directly from the above in 1968. Private Collection, New York, New York. EXHIBITED: "Vincent van Gogh: Works from the Dutch Period," Avanti Galleries, Inc. New York, New York, October 19-December 16, 1995. LITERATURE: Jacob Baart de la Faille, The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1970, no. F 955, p. 356 (illustrated as Bald-Headed Orphan Man Facing Right). Jan Hulsker, The Complete van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1980, no. 355, p. 85 (illustrated as Orphan Man, Bareheaded, Head). Jacob Baart de la Faille, Vincent van Gogh, The Complete Works on Paper, Catalogue Raisonné, A. Wofsy Fine Arts, San Francisco, 1992, Vol. I, no. 955, pp. 246-247 (illustrated in Vol. II, pl. XXXIII as Bald-Headed Orphan Man Facing Right). Jan Hulsker, The New Complete van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, Meulenhoff, Amsterdam, 1996, no. 355, p. 85 (illustrated as Orphan Man, Bareheaded, Head). NOTE: In December 1881, Vincent van Gogh left his hometown of Etten to settle in The Hague, southwest of the Netherlands. This sudden move followed a violent argument with the artist's family, who reproached his recent infatuation with his recently widowed cousin, Kee Vos, and looked down on his mediocre career, which they thought was bound to fail. Yet when he arrived in The Hague, then twenty-eight-year old van Gogh was full of hope and determined to prove his family wrong by succeeding as an independent artist. He rented a studio on the outskirts of the city and initially began collaborating with his relative Ant