The Bedroom Auction History

1889: Painted in Saint‑Rémy and sent to Theo van Gogh in Paris in December 1889 [2].

1891: By descent to Johanna van Gogh‑Bonger after Theo’s death [2].

By 1901: Sold privately to Jos Hessel, Paris [2].

By 1909–at least 1914: In the collection of Carl Reininghaus, Vienna [2].

By 1926: With dealer Paul Rosenberg [2].

December 1926: Private sale from Paul Rosenberg to Frederic Clay Bartlett (price not published) [2].

1926–present: Gifted by Bartlett to the Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection (acc. 1926.417) [1].

The Bedroom at the Art Institute of Chicago has no public auction record; its changes of hands occurred by descent and private/dealer transactions before Frederic Clay Bartlett acquired it from Paul Rosenberg in December 1926 and donated it the same year to the museum, where it remains [1][2]. Museum ownership and the absence of an auction history mean there is no disclosed price for this specific canvas, and no hammer results to analyze directly.

Even without public sale data, the work’s stature is clear. It is one of Van Gogh’s celebrated Bedroom compositions and has been a centerpiece of major exhibitions, including the Art Institute’s 2016 “Van Gogh’s Bedrooms,” which reunited all three versions and deepened technical and art-historical study [4]. Subsequent loans—such as to the Norton Simon Museum in 2016–17 and to the National Gallery, London, in 2024–25—underscore its ongoing scholarly and public significance [3][2].

Context from the broader Van Gogh market indicates the potential tier this painting would occupy if it were ever to be sold. The artist’s auction record stands at $117.18m for Orchard with Cypresses (1888) at Christie’s New York in 2022 [5], and a recent high for his Paris period reached $62.7m in 2025 [6]. These benchmarks highlight sustained top-tier demand for canonical subjects and periods. While direct valuation is inappropriate for a museum-held icon, The Bedroom’s provenance through major dealers and early placement in a leading U.S. collection, coupled with its exhibition history, position it among the artist’s most institutionally anchored works—masterpieces that typically do not re-enter the market [1][2][4].