One of Van Gogh's greatest watercolours could achieve a record price

"(June 1888) comes up for sale on 19 May at Sotheby's in New York, with an estimate of $25m-$35m. Van Gogh painted the watercolour just a few days before making his magnificent oil painting of the same scene, The Harvest (June 1888)."

"Van Gogh had actually made two watercolours of the wheatfields. The first, (June 1888), belongs to the Harvard Art Museums. It is only rarely displayed (for conservation reasons), but will be going on show later this year in their exhibition (18 September-17 January 2027)."

"The second watercolour, the one to be sold at Sotheby's, is larger (49 x 61 cm), more elaborate and is more colourful. In the middle distance of this composition, Van Gogh added two small horses and carts (one just to the left of the centre and the other outside the house on the right)."

"Van Gogh first sketched the landscape in pencil, then used a reed pen and ink to outline the key elements, and finally applied at least eight different watercolours. Van Gogh had received the watercolour paints from Paris two weeks earlier. As Vincent then explained to his brother Theo, "I'd like to do some pen drawings, but coloured in flat tints like Japanese prints"."

A Van Gogh watercolour of wheatfields from June 1888 is scheduled for sale at Sotheby’s in New York on 19 May, with an estimate of $25m–$35m. The work was painted only a few days before Van Gogh created the oil painting The Harvest (June 1888) of the same scene. Van Gogh made two watercolours of the wheatfields: one held by the Harvard Art Museums and rarely displayed for conservation reasons, and a second larger, more elaborate and more colourful version being offered at Sotheby’s. The Sotheby’s watercolour measures 49 x 61 cm and includes two small horses and carts. The process involved pencil sketching, reed pen and ink outlines, and at least eight different watercolours, using paints received from Paris two weeks earlier. The paper shows a Whatman watermark from a mill in Kent, England.

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