On This Day – Vincent van Gogh Died

On July 29, 1890, Artist Vincent van Gogh died, two days after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, in Auvers, France, at age 37.

I can’t change the fact that my paintings don’t sell. But the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paint used in the picture.

~Vincent van Gogh

So very true. Vincent's "Portrait of Doctor Gachet", 1890, sold for $82.5 million in 1990 to Japanese Industrialist Ryoei Saito, making it then the world's most expensive painting. Saito created quite a scandal in the art world when he jokingly claimed he wanted the painting cremated and buried with him upon his death. However, after Saito's death in 1996 and much speculation as to who now owns Gachet, it's whereabouts are still relatively unknown.