Van Gogh Museum Adds Rare Female Artist Painting from TEFAF Fair

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam purchased Virginie Demont-Breton's 1887-88 painting 'L'homme est en mer' at the TEFAF Maastricht fair. Acquired with public acquisition funds for between €500,000 and €1 million, this work becomes just the third painting by a woman in the museum's collection. Gallery 19C from Dallas-Fort Worth facilitated the sale from a private collection where it had been held for two decades. Vincent van Gogh reportedly admired and copied this artwork after seeing a reproduction, making it one of the few female artists' works he emulated. The painting previously sold at Christie's in 2000 for $99,500.