“The Red Vineyard at Arles” by Vincent Van Gogh was the only painting sold during the lifetime of the spectacularly gifted and prolific Impressionist. Although one of Van Gogh’s (1853 – 1890) works auctioned for an astounding $82.5 million in 1990, this piece sold for the equivalent of $1,600 during the artist's already troubled and poverty-stricken existence. The work was bought by Anna Boch, who was also an Impressionist painter, and the sister of Van Gogh’s friend Eugene Boch. Van Gogh painted this work completely from memory after an evening stroll past a vineyard. The dominant colors of red and yellow exemplify how he disregarded the established laws of contrasting color theory with magnificent results.

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