Where are Vincent van Gogh's living relatives today? How they're preserving his work

The tortured artist, known for works like "Starry Night" and "Sunflowers," famously died at the age of 37, stemming from mental illness

Vincent van Gogh (French, 1853–1890), Self-Portrait, 1887, oil on board, 41 X 32.5 Cm (16.1 X 12.8 in), Art Institute of Chicago.© Getty Images
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad SanwariSenior Writer - New York
March 30, 2026
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Nearly two centuries after his birth, on March 30, 1853, Vincent van Gogh still remains one of the defining figures in the Western world of art.

While he famously received little recognition during his own time, with his life tragically ending at the age of 37 following struggles with his mental health, he has since become one of the most recognizable figures in pop culture, beyond his paintings even.

Self-Portrait with felt hat, 1888, by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), oil on canvas, 44x37.5 cm. © Getty Images
Vincent van Gogh was born exactly 173 years ago today

The hallmark for the "tortured artist" famously led much of his life by his lonesome, never marrying or bearing children, but he was born the oldest of six van Gogh siblings, with some of his living descendants carrying his legacy forward.

Vincent van Gogh's brother, Theo

Theo van Gogh, Vincent's younger brother, was born four years later. He was close with his brother, exchanging letters and frequently corresponding with him when the former took up painting in the 1880s, going so far as to financially support him.

Brooklyn, N.Y.: Dr. Vincent W. Van Gogh, the 81-year-old nephew of artist Vincent Van Gogh, poses at the Brooklyn Museum next to his uncle Vincent's 1889 painting, "The Irises" during an interview on February 10, 1971.© Getty Images
His nephew Vincent Willem van Gogh was responsible for creating the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Theo worked as an art dealer and in 1889, he married Johanna Bonger, welcoming a son named Vincent Willem van Gogh (after his uncle) in 1890. Theo was also quite sickly during his lifetime, and after his brother's death in 1890, Theo passed away six months later at the age of 33.

He owned a majority of his brother's paintings at the time, and his wife Johanna was instrumental in not only publishing their letters of correspondence, but also in promoting Vincent's work and bringing it to the attention of the world.

Great-grandchild of Vincent van Gogh's brother Theo, Willem van Gogh, poses next to a self portrait of Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh on the ground floor of the Vincent van Gogh museum on November 25, 2014 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The new presentation of the permanent collection of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) works focuses on the development of the artist and the myths surrounding Van Gogh's suicide, illness and ear are discussed in detail for the first time at the museum. On the ground floor of the museum, visitor's first walk through an array of the Dutch artist's self-portraits.© Getty Images
Willem van Gogh is now the ambassador for the Van Gogh Museum

Vincent Willem van Gogh

After the foundation set by his mother, who died in 1925, Vincent Willem inherited a majority of his uncle's work, including an extensive collection of 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and hundreds more letters. He also endeavored to preserve and promote the work.

In 1962, he created the Vincent van Gogh Foundation to preserve them, which eventually became the famed Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which opened in 1973 and remains the largest collection of van Gogh's work on display. Vincent Willem passed away in 1978.

An undated file photo of Dutch director Theo van Gogh. The 47-year-old film maker was stabbed to death while cycling along a street in Amsterdam. Van Gogh, who sometimes claimed to be a distant relative of the late 19th Century artist Vincent Van Gogh, caused uproar this summer among the Dutch Muslim community with his short film 'Submission' about Islam and women. A Dutch court reopend 13 January 2006 the case of the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by Mohammed Bouyeri, an Islamic radical, who has received a life-term sentence.© Getty Images
Dutch director Theo van Gogh, Vincent Willem's grandson who was tragically killed in 2004

The surviving van Goghs

Not all the van Gogh descendants now lead public-facing lives. The Van Gogh Museum's chief ambassador is currently Willem van Gogh, Theo's grandson. "It's thanks to Theo’s son – my grandfather – that Vincent's works are now on display at the museum," he said per the museum's website.

"I was named after my grandfather, and I now work as an ambassador for the museum. I also have several nieces and nephews, who also descend from Theo. I'm pleased to say that they are also actively involved with the museum's collection."

Lieuwe van Gogh with his dog posing in front of a pair of his paintings, shared on Instagram© Instagram
Lieuwe van Gogh, Theo's son who is an artist just like his ancestor

Prominent among them is Theo van Gogh, a Dutch film director best known for making the film Submission: Part 1, a short drama that criticized the treatment of women in Islam. He was killed in 2004 by a Dutch-Moroccan Islamist protesting his film. Theo's son Lieuwe van Gogh, now 34, is a well-known painter like his ancestor.

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