Engagement photograph of Helene Müller and Anton Kröller (1887-88) Courtesy of the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
A wealthy shipping tycoon wanted to buy up the entire Van Gogh family collection in 1911. Had the “unlimited” offer been accepted, the Van Gogh Museum would never have been established. The astonishing story of this “spectacular bid” is revealed in an article by museum researcher Roelie Zwikker.
Zwikker discovered that in 1911 the art dealer Johannes de Bois, based in The Hague, had been approached by a collector who gave him an “almost unlimited mandate” to buy all the Van Goghs which remained in the family collection, which was then administered by Vincent’s sister-in-law Jo Bonger.