Vincent van Gogh - A Pair of Shoes 1886
A Pair of Shoes 1886
37x46cm oil/canvas
Sold for: USD 4.78 million
Auction house: Christie's, London
Sale date: 8 December 1999
Seller: Private Collection, Belgium
Buyer: Anonymous buyer
From Christie's, London:
In the spring of 1886, Van Gogh arrived in Paris. His brother, Theo, was working as an art dealer for Boussod & Valadon in the city at the time and had encouraged his younger brother to come there in the hope that he could help to establish him as a leading figure in the Parisian art scene. Theo's directorship at Boussod & Valadon - the firm which Gauguin described to his wife as 'the centre of the impressionists' - certainly put him in an ideal position from to promote the work of his younger brother.