A painting purchased for a pittance at a Minnesota garage sale may be a previously unknown work by the renowned Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, CNN reports, citing an analysis by art research firm LMI Group International.
The oil on canvas portrait, measuring 18 inches x 16.5 inches, depicts a fisherman with a white beard, smoking a pipe as he mends his net.
The painting, acquired by an antiques collector in 2016, bears the inscription “Elimar” in the bottom right corner. LMI experts spent four years meticulously analyzing the canvas weave, paint pigments, and other characteristics, ultimately concluding that it’s a Van Gogh created during his 1889 stay at a psychiatric hospital in the south of France.
The analysis revealed the painting is a “translation” – a common practice for Van Gogh – of a work by Danish artist Michael Ancher. Further investigation included DNA analysis of a human hair embedded in the canvas. While the hair was confirmed to be male, its degraded state prevented a definitive link to Van Gogh’s descendants.
Despite the extensive research, the painting’s authenticity still requires confirmation from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The museum previously rejected the painting’s attribution in 2018 when approached by the previous owner. However, LMI, which acquired the painting in 2019, remains confident in its findings.
The potential discovery adds to the roughly 900 paintings Van Gogh is known to have produced during his tragically short life. The artist’s struggles with mental health, possibly including bipolar and borderline personality disorder, have been the subject of much research, including a 2020 study by The University Medical Center Groningen suggesting Van Gogh experienced brief psychotic episodes. He died by suicide in 1890 at the age of 37.
