Stairway at Auvers

Stairway at Auvers was painted during the final ten weeks of Van Gogh's life at Auvers-sur-Oise, where he had moved in May 1890 under the informal care of Dr. Paul Gachet. He died on July 29, 1890, making this among his last completed paintings. The work passed first to his brother Theo, who died just six months later, and then to Theo's widow Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, whose tireless efforts to promote Van Gogh's legacy were instrumental in establishing his posthumous reputation. The Saint Louis Art Museum acquired the painting in 1934–35 through the Paris dealer Paul Rosenberg, making it one of the earliest Van Goghs to enter an American public collection.