Laura Presents Letters of Vincent and Theo Van Gogh plus Some Surprises

Jacquieʼs Email Hello Literary Ladies! When choosing my own subject to present this season, I ordered The Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh from the library. But daunted by the sheer heft of the volume and the 500+ densely packed pages, I made a lighter choice (both literally and literarily). But how happy I was to see that Laura Rice did not shy away, and our program booklet notes that she will be presenting “Dear Theo: Letters of Vincent Van Gogh to His Brother.”

    Then I received an email from Laura in which she warned that “...my presentation, supposed to be about Van Gogh, includes him, but is not exclusively on his letters. It is kind of Van Gogh and others. In fact, I am trying to think of a name for the hodge podge it will be...” So now I'm even MORE excited for her presentation!

    With that in mind, this is a reminder that the next meeting of the Literature Club of Hastings-on-Hudson will be held this Wednesday, April 9th, once again at the spacious and gracious home of our president, Joanna. We will gather at noon for luncheon and chat, which is sure to include comparing notes on our various experiences at the empowering Saturday, April 5th “Hands Off” rallies many Lit Club members attended. (I saw Mary Lemons, Barbara Morrow, and Joanna in the huge and very polite crowd at the rally at the VFW in town before heading over to the Rivertowns Thrift at the Rec Center...) Joanna will then ring the bell to begin our meeting at 1 PM, after which we will finally learn what name Laura decided upon for her hodge podge presentation. It is sure to delight.

    Members, please let our host know if you are unable to attend, and associates, please let her know that you will be attending. 
    Stay warm and dry (and solvent??!!) and I hope to see many of you on Wednesday. x Jacquie

Francesʼ Minutes At noon, twelve members and two associates met at Joanna’s home. She had just returned the night before from a 36-hour round trip to Martha’s Vineyard. At the previous meeting she had warned us that lunch would be simple but I thought it was pretty substantial. Before leaving for the Vineyard, she made chicken soup & froze it; time in the freezer had only improved its flavor.

Laura, our presenter, and I, about to be nominated as Recording Secretary, arrived early.

Accepting the position of Recording Secretary was intimidating. I wish I had nabbed a spot on the nominating committee, which would have made me ineligible for the position. I was absent the day it was formed. If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll understand my fear about following Christine and Barbara, our previous secretaries. Their minutes were really, really good.

Laura was getting out of her car when we met up. She wore a T-shirt with Van Gogh’s self-portrait. Adding interest to her talk was something you might expect of Laura, a retired, a beloved Hastings High English teacher. She had two heavy bags of books which I offered to help her with. Yes, I could, she said, but she also needed a favor. Sometimes I think I was born on April Fool’s Day for a reason.

bathing suit with paintings

Laura had bought a men’s swimsuit set printed with Van Gogh’s iconic paintings – including the self-portrait – and would I wear it? I had to put it on in secret, it would fit over my clothes, I should do it under cover, like in the bathroom. I should come out (dressed like a clueless, tasteless beach goer) just before she started her talk.

Readers, I did it.

 But after Joanna called the meeting to order at 1 PM.

 First, the nominating committee presented their candidates.
Treasurer: Lori (to continue another 2-year term)
Corresponding Secretary: Jacquie (to continue another 2-year term)
Recording Secretary: Frances (starting a 2-year term, replacing Christine)

The candidates were unanimously approved. Joanna thanked Christine for the wonderful minutes she’d taken during the years (2021-2025) she served as Recording Secretary.

 Second, Lori gave the treasurer’s report: $508.06. We noted that it was time to consider our annual gift to the Hastings Library. One possibility: replacing the board books in the Children’s Library, which are worn and battered. Joanna will contact Debbie Quinn for her suggestions. We will also buy children’s books from the Barkin Bookstore to donate to a summer reading program.

 Third: next year’s topic. Five topics made the cut; members are now to choose three and rank them in order of preference. Laura will reveal the final selection at the next meeting.

bathing suit detail

 We made recommendations about books and films. Christine suggested Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim, a novel about a complicated marriage, unlike von Arnim’s other work. Frances suggested “The Penguin Lessons” a film directed by Peter Cattaneo. Both Steve Coogan, the star, and the penguin deserve Oscars.

 Laura began her presentation on Vincent Van Gogh by confessing that she had difficulties approaching him. (Aside – is that the reason she asked me to wear that silly bathing suit?)

 We started by reading quotes from his letters, example: “There is nothing in the earth as interesting as people. You can not study them enough.” And “to paint nature one must live in it a long time…”

 Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands March 30, 1853, into a cultured, well-educated family with a degree of prosperity. His father was a Dutch Reformed minister; his grandfather as well as three uncles were art dealers. Growing up, Van Gogh was described as “dreamy.” He drew a lot; he disliked the boarding schools where he was sent. At 16, he started working at an uncle’s art gallery. Failure marked the next decade of his life. He was no good at, nor did he like, the business of art. He fell deeply in love and was rejected. He wanted to be a minister, but failed the university entrance exam; that was followed by another failure at a 3-month missionary course.

 He had become passionately religious. A missionary post was found for him in a coal mining district in Belgium. He permitted himself nothing more than what the miners had; the mission had supplied him with a simple dwelling which he gave up to a homeless man. He lived in a hut, like the miners; like the miners, he lived on a diet of potatoes. Living at a level perhaps even below that of the miners, religious almost to the point of martyrdom, he was still not accepted by the community. He was dismissed by the church authorities. 

 At 27, he returned to live with his parents. His father, troubled by his eccentric behavior, wanted to commit him to a lunatic asylum; a decade later, Van Gogh would be in an asylum. His younger brother Theo suggested Van Gogh go to art school. Theo gave Van Gogh the next decade of his life.

another detail of suit

Theo was his brother’s hero. He worked as an art dealer in Paris, he had a wife and a son. He supported his brother financially, although his own career was not lucrative. He tried to sell his brother’s paintings, without success. The two brothers had an extensive correspondence. Theo died 6 months after his brother’ suicide. Theo’s letters to Van Gogh have disappeared.

No other record of the development of an artistic vision exists like Van Gogh’s to his brother, nor of a man who created paintings despite debilitating mental illness, often completely isolated, with no income except the small sums Theo provided. 

 In the last two years of his life, Van Gogh suffered intense depressions; had seizures, hallucinations, delusions of being poisoned and was in and out asylums. Many of his paintings from this time are heartbreakingly beautiful.

 With the consultation of our psychologist member, Lori, we speculated on what his illness might have been: schizophrenia? bi-polar disorder? manic depression?

 Van Gogh shot himself in the chest in 1890 and died a day later of the infected wound. In his pocket was a letter to Theo. It said  “…my own work, I am risking my life for it and my reason has half foundered because of it–that’s all right…”

 Respectively submitted,
Frances Greenberg, Recording Secretary