Why is Van Gogh's The Starry Night in New York?

"This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big," van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, from France. Rooted in imagination and memory, The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Gogh's response to nature. read more

The Museum of Modern Art purchased The Starry Night in 1941 from the Paul Rosenberg Gallery. Rosenberg acquired it in 1938 from Miss Georgette P. van Stolk of Rotterdam, who had owned it since 1907. read more

Van Gogh's night sky is a field of roiling energy. Below the exploding stars, the village is a place of quiet order. Connecting earth and sky is the flamelike cypress, a tree traditionally associated with graveyards and mourning. But death was not ominous for van Gogh. read more

After having initially held it back, Van Gogh sent The Starry Night to Theo in Paris on 28 September 1889, along with nine or ten other paintings. Theo died less than six months after Vincent, in January 1891. Theo's widow, Jo, then became the caretaker of Van Gogh's legacy. read more