Voted Most Popular for 2009...

Each year Overstockart.com -- a company specializing in oil-painted knockoffs of art historical masterpieces -- releases its Top Ten list of paintings sold. Last year, Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" was #1. But this year, VIncent's "Starry Night" reclaims the top spot, with "Café Terrace in the Place du Forum" at #2. Klimt drops to #3, while the rest of the list includes works by Monet ("The Poppy Field at Argenteuil" is #4), Renoir ("Luncheon of the Boating Party" = #5), Picasso, O'Keeffe, and Kandinsky.

David Sasson, CEO of Overstockart.com, comments that "Van Gogh consistently remains the most popular artist in the world, his total sales numbers have left everyone else behind." Ah, the irony...not just because of the large sales figures, but because, as I've said before, Vincent did not consider "Starry Night" an important work at all in his own oeuvre. Sasson adds, "In the business world especially, where image is everything, many companies strive to keep up with the latest interior décor trends to maintain a modern appeal that will impress customers and clients." What would Vincent think about that, I wonder, or how would any of these painters feel about their work being essentially mass-produced as "authentic hand painted canvas art"? (You can, by the way, choose from a copious list of van Gogh works beyond "Starry Night" and "Café Terrace.")

Read the full article about the Top Ten here. In 2009, Overstockart.com sold approximately 45,000 paintings.