The Widow Van Gogh

Tragedy, Triumph, and the Woman Who Made Vincent van Gogh a Legend: A Life of Johanna van Gogh-Bonger
A vivid new biography uncovers the fascinating story of Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, the true steward of Van Gogh’s art and legacy after Vincent and Theo’s early deaths.
A vivid new biography uncovers the fascinating story of Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, the true steward of Van Gogh’s art and legacy after Vincent and Theo’s early deaths.

On a stormy summer night in 1891, a young Dutch widow left her home and went for a walk outside alone in the rain. It was the anniversary of the death of her brother-in-law, Vincent van Gogh, and she was at the beginning of an improbable decades-long journey that would transform the ridiculed and unappreciated painter into one of the most beloved artists of all time.

Johanna “Jo” van Gogh-Bonger is a critical piece of the puzzle in understanding the life and posthumous fame of V