trendSpotting Report
Scott J. Milne

What’s the first thing comes to mind when you hear Vincent Van Gogh? If you’re like most people you say, “Wasn’t that the guy who cut off his ear?” or “Yeah, I think he painted that picture of the swirling clouds, right?” Other than that, you’d have to ponder a bit. “Gee, I just don’t know much more.”

Exactly. What if Van Gogh had some good PR back in the 1800s? Can you imagine! He might have been famous while alive (for good reason) and able to support himself instead of having to rely on his brother Theo for support.

Unfortunately for Vincent, PR firms at the time were nonexistent and self-help PR books like Full Frontal PR (shameless plug for my boss) did not exist. Probably would have been easier for him to invent PR than cut his ear off…

It wasn’t until almost 25 years after his death, in the mid 1920s, that Van Gogh’s work became popular and much sought after, thanks to a, ahem, PR campaign that his sister-in-law mounted to give Vincent the recognition he deserved. Other than Theo trying to sell his paintings at the gallery he worked in, Vincent didn’t have any PR to sell his own works, and his reputation for being difficult — to say the least — did not help his cause at the time.

If you’re wondering if PR is really something you or your company needs, can afford, etc., take a look at this PR campaign mounted by Vincent’s own beloved relative.

Six months after Vincent died, Theo passed away and with that any chance of Vincent’s paintings being sold. If it weren’t for Theo’s wife Jo, we probably wouldn’t know anything about the painter or have the pleasure of viewing his masterpieces. Having inherited the majority of Vincent’s work, she had a daunting task at hand. Keep in mind that Vincent Van Gogh painted around 900 works in a span of 10 years and was reputed to have only sold a single one while alive!

With Jo’s tenacity and belief in something that she had a passion to promote, she was able to get Vincent the recognition kept from him while alive. How did she do this? She used old-fashioned PR. She did her homework. She sent Vincent’s paintings to art exhibitions throughout Europe where they would get the most exposure instead of trying to convince one or two art galleries to sell his work. And she talked about them with anyone who would listen!

Sound familiar? At RLM we say it like this:

9 x 1 = 0…9 messages delivered once = none are received.

3 x 3 = 1…3 messages delivered 3 times each = at least 1 is received.

Jo carefully guided select messages and repeated them a multitude of times — and to the right people. Think about it. She set her goals, did her preparation well, and over time, since good PR doesn’t always happen overnight, she set the gears in motion and the art world “woke up” to realize that Vincent’s work was the real deal.

What she accomplished was amazing for her “client,” especially considering that back then there were no emails, IMs, faxes, FedEx, mass mailings, mass mailing companies…you get my point. See how much ahead of the game you are now to be able to get things done!

Luckily for us, Van Gogh’s PR didn’t stop after Jo’s death in 1925. It got stronger. Vincent’s namesake nephew inherited his Uncle’s paintings upon his mother’s death and the Vincent Van Gogh (by Vincent Van Gogh) PR drive went into full swing. What better way to honor his uncle and have the world admire the paintings than to establish a museum in his honor. In 1973 the Van Gogh Museum opened in Amsterdam and to this day receives a subsidy from the Dutch government—and a lot of money from me during bi-annual visits. Think about what the second Vincent did: he got a government to recognize his own PR efforts. No easy feat.

Talk about PR savvy.

Vincent’s PR from Jo continued and the torch was passed. In the 1970s Vincent got a big hit of PR by way of singer Don McLean, who brought Vincent to a new generation through a new medium – that of song. In 1972 “Vincent,” or, as you may know it, “Starry Starry Night,” hit #1 on the charts in the UK and #12 in the U.S. Take a trip down memory lane and listen to it again or for the first time.

After that, there was no stopping the Van Gogh PR machine. In 1990 Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” was sold for an astonishing $82.5 million. All that PR also got to a couple of lousy “admirers” when in 2002 the Van Gogh Museum was broken in to and two of his paintings were stolen.

So does PR really work and does it pay off in the end? In my opinion, oh yes it does. It might not come off easily, and it may take you a while to realize you need a PR firm instead of self-promotional PR, but even if you do it on your own, results will pay off — if you work at it. I have seen at least 100 of Van Gogh’s paintings in five separate cities worldwide. Did you know that what is probably his most famous painting, “Starry Night,” is located right here in Manhattan at the Museum of Modern Art? Take time to admire the PR behind Vincent and find a Van Gogh closest to you at www.vggallery.com/map/main.htm.

And let me help set the record straight: Vincent only cut off the lower lobe of his left ear – not the entire ear as most think. Thank you – and enjoy a starry night.

Scott Milne is Richard Laermer’s most able executive assistant and serves as RLM’s resident fine art expert and beloved Amsterdam aficionado.