---

"By working hard, old man, I hope to make something good one day. I haven't yet, but I am pursuing it and fighting for it . . . ." Vincent van Gogh Letter 257 c. 3 January 1883

Vincent van Gogh is famous for the nearly 900 paintings he produced in his ten short years as an artist. His sketches and watercolours, too, have become extremely well known. It's important to remember, however, that Van Gogh produced works no less remarkable in yet another medium: letter sketches. Throughout his career as an artist Vincent maintained a warm and loving correspondence with his brother, Theo. In many of the letters to his brother (and others as well) Vincent drew sketches within the letters themselves--as a means of showing how his work was progressing.

In the tables below all of Vincent van Gogh's 133 letter sketches are listed. These works are in many ways no less remarkable than Van Gogh's most famous oils. One can see Vincent's ongoing progression as an artist and view intimate subtleties about his craft. There is a surprising attention to detail and even use of colour (see Honesty in a Vase, for example) in Van Gogh's letter sketches. As a result, the poignant content of the letters and the delicate masterpieces many of them contained, truly make Van Gogh's letters a work of art themselves.

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum

New York: Pierpont Morgan Library

Other Locations

Location Unknown

Return to main Van Gogh Gallery page