Greatest Marketer of the Century

Why Jo was the perfect person to save Vincent and how it matters to you.

Jo van Gogh Bonger

A few weeks ago, I shared in a post how I got mad when Jo van Gogh was dismissed in a professional article about her brother-in-law Vincent. My annoyance kicked off a seven-year effort to write her story.

Jo is the heroine of my debut novel and her untold story about how she saved Vincent van Gogh from obscurity. When her husband Theo died six months after Vincent’s gunshot suicide, she inherited her husband’s estate. That included hundreds of Van Gogh paintings and drawings.

That inheritance would be split 50/50 with her son when he turned 21. But at the time of Theo’s death, the baby was barely a year old. Only a handful of people in the art community appreciated Vincent. Jo’s son was heir to a worthless legacy.

It would be up to his mom to create value in that inheritance.

I believe what she ultimately accomplished makes her the Greatest. Marketer. Of. The. Century.

Whoa, hold up! Yes, I know that’s a lot of enthusiasm! I’ll give you an idea of why with three examples of the many marketing tactics she used intuitively and ahead of her time.

But what truly makes me pause is whether there’s a connection to my being drawn to her story before I had any inkling about what she did, although I bring a 30-year marketing career to the table.

For when I set out to devote myself to the creative endeavor to write a novel, I had no idea that as I researched—like popcorn kernels popping—Jo’s marketing intuition to make Vincent’s work discoverable would leap off the page to me.

Hidden in plain sight. Again and again, I saw examples of her marketing genius. I saw them because that’s the way I’ve trained myself to think.

Would someone else have seen the tactics?

Sure, but they haven’t written my book.

Does the universe conspire to bring us creative work where we can shine?

Whoa! I have a tentative answer at the end of this post.

But first, five examples on how Jo was a genius marketer as I share a bit of what I felt and discovered while researching.

Vincent Started as a Nobody

Like thousands of other young men who flocked to Paris to make their fame and fortune in art, Vincent is an unknown artist in a big, dog-eat-dog, street-fight bruising, winner-takes-all Art Industry boxing ring. Everyone shoved and scrambled—art dealers, instructors, schools, journalists—to get a slice of art’s money pie.

Neither Vincent nor his art dealer brother Theo had been able to break in.

Enter Jo. A young (29 yo), diminutive, Dutch single parent with a baby.

She’s got no chance, friends. With my background in marketing, I know a bit about the scrabble to grab space in the consumer awareness corner. Still, as I begin to research, I’m already rooting for her because she’s a sister in a male-dominated art-elite world, but still…the path is steep.

Wresting Control and Nurturing Allies

The very first thing she does is brilliant. She moves out of Paris to a small Dutch town, taking the 300 or so paintings in her apartment with her (Theo took to his grave what and where he’d scattered other artwork in galleries across Paris). I admire her already. Everyone’s aghast. She’s crazy! She doesn’t know what she’s doing! Paris is the place to be! Her father, her brother, Vincent’s artist friends are angry.

What’s she doing? Taking control. She’s creating distance from the Parisian art-dealer madness and ships all those paintings to go with her back to Holland where she stores them in an attic.

And remember, she’s grieving. She and Theo were head-over-heels in love. Her life is completely uprooted, but she’s holding her ground.

I am loving how she is digging deep for inner guidance. And I am sad for her too because I read their love letters, she has lost her soulmate and is facing a life changed forever.

First marketing strategy: She leans into one of Vincent’s one and only fan groups, Les Vingt. (The name means “The 20” in French). This group of twenty Brussels men prided themselves on being at the forefront of avant-garde art and Theo had exhibited Vincent’s work with them the year before. In fact, while Theo was sick, Jo took the initiative to send drawings to them so Vincent wouldn’t miss out on that year’s exhibition. With Theo gone, she nurtures this relationship. Allies are crucial, especially as everyone else sees her as just the dead art dealer’s wife. Total outlier.

Sounds basic, right? Support those who support you. Seeking out allies was critical when the rules were written by the dominant male elite. And she had to overcome timidity to do it. Her instinct in cultivating the relationship proved spot on. The intrepid Vingtistes would prove to be invaluable in continuing to give Vincent’s work intros into art shows as time went on. (Notice how they are outsiders too being from Brussels, Paris’s stepbrother).

And I’m happy. At least someone’s stepped up to help Jo.

Creating Social Proof and Scaring Up Scarcity

Second strategy: She gives paintings away. Sound counterintuitive? Except the gifts have one condition: The recipient must agree she can borrow them back for art shows. For example, she gives the painting, The Sower, and drawing, Road with Trees to Theo’s doctor in thanks for his caregiving. When he loans them back as agreed, she places a little notice next to each artwork: “From the personal collection of Dr. Frederik van Eeden.”

You can hear the wheels turning within exhibit visitors’ minds. “If Dr. Van Eeden owns it, maybe this is good?” Associating the artwork with an influential member of the community increases the perception of the art’s value.

It’s a tactic she will use judiciously again and again.

Third strategy: A friend of Theo’s and member of the Haagsche Kunstkring, a liberal art circle in The Hague, agrees to hold a review of Vincent’s work, Jo persuades them to include paintings not for sale in the show catalogue. But it's a sales catalogue, they balk. She talks them into trying it—taking a risk at angering this new art connection, and, worse, failing to make any sales, —but she sees the opportunity to introduce a scarcity idea. Not all paintings are available.

It works. One of the paintings, Mountainous Landscape (behind Saint Paul Hospital), sells for 270 guilders, nearly half an entire year’s rent of her home.

This is just over a year following her husband’s death. Jo is feeling her way, and I am cheering for her.

Holding Her Ground on Pricing

Next, a fourth strategy is one of marketing’s pillars: Pricing. Here, she keeps the long game in sight. For years she holds her ground on reducing the prices she assigns to Vincent’s work and gradually raises them.

Case in point: It’s Vincent’s first show in Copenhagen, which is also his first overseas show. It’s 1883 and Danish artist Johan Rohde founds his own art society and chooses to exhibit Vincent’s work. Jo sends 29 paintings in March, but a month later there are no sales. In April Rohde sends his No. 2 guy Seligmann to Holland to talk to Jo about lowering prices. She declines but is willing to consider offers. One month later, there are still no bites from buyers and Rohde insists she drop prices. She refuses. Three weeks later Rohde counter offers, but Jo won’t agree.

She’ll cheerfully bundle though! Buy a painting + drawing or two paintings and she’ll offer a discount.

I don’t think Rohde is amused.

I am astounded at how Jo’s confidence is growing. How vigilant she is in keeping her eye on her goal to grow the value of her son’s inheritance over time. She’s frugal; she’s running a guest house to pay the bills. It’s not about becoming wealthy.

Creating a World-class Stage Validation

For the fifth and last marketing example, I’ll skip forward to 1905. Curiosity and art collector interest has been growing around Vincent, not only in Paris but Germany, Austria, London, and other cities. Although his work is still controversial, it’s with this wind of Vincent’s popularity at her back that Jo proposes the most audacious idea of all: Give Vincent a one-man show. And not just anywhere, but in the premier contemporary art museum in Amsterdam, the Stedelijk.

Is she refused? Of course, she is. Does she try again, and then a third time?

Yes.

When she finally gets approval, she rents seven galleries within the Stedelijk. Hangs nearly 500 paintings and drawings. Plans for the show to run seven weeks. And by the end, it’s estimated 4,500 people attend. It’s the largest Van Gogh exhibition even to this day. Showcasing the breadth, depth, and enormity of contribution this man gave to the world of art and to us.

It would prove to be the breakout moment for Vincent to be on the world stage as one of humankind’s greatest artists.

Even now, I have to pause. I admire her tenacity and humility so much. Honestly, if it was me, I don’t know if I could have persisted.

One of this Century’s Greatest Marketers

Which brings me back to the beginning of this essay. I’ve only given a few examples of Jo’s successful marketing tactics, but why claim she was the greatest marketer of the last century?

Two reasons. First, next year 2025 is the 100^th year anniversary of her death, a century marker. Secondly, if you look at prices paid for the last ten Van Gogh paintings publicly sold, sales on just those ten works alone equal an astounding $720 million.

She created a market worth billions of dollars from art that was considered worthless.

And Vincent’s work continues to draw and inspire millions of people.

You can see why her story deserves to be known.

Back to my question: Does the universe conspire to bring us creative work where we can shine? Jo is an example, right? She was the perfect person to value and preserve Vincent’s legacy. The fact that we know of him is no accident. She saved him from obscurity.

Am I the perfect person to write this story?

I don’t know, but it does reflect two of my passions—strong women and marketing. Instead of playing catch-up to becoming an author, is it that the most perfect preparation brings me here?

Do you value what you know? What you bring to the table?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Warmly,

P.S. Before I go, since I’ve whetted your appetite on marketing, check out

Anne Helen Petersen

and her culture study commentary. Understanding the times we’re living in is where marketing starts.

P.S.S. Guess what?! My book will publish in 2025. The same year as Jo’s century anniversary. This just makes me smile.

Reference for most recent sales of Van Gogh art

https://insights.masterworks.com/art/artists/van-gogh-most-expensive-paintings/

Recommendation: Captivating Books about Classic Artists and Their Rivalry

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Raphael, Painter in Rome

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Order on Laura Morelli's website

The Giant: A Novel of Michelangelo’s David

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