"I cannot stress how dangerous José is." I looked soberly at them both, concerned. He is one of the three that can literally blow us out of the project.

Avram nodded.

Sarah smiled." You're right Charlie, but you are wrong too."

"How so?"

"José told us from the beginning that van Gogh and Picasso were his favorites. Now we all know that Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 and suicided on July 29, 1890. He is considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt, although he only sold once during his lifetime."

I nodded. "Yes, we have all read some of the basics."

Avram interjected, "Let me save us some time. Here." He handed out a bio.

"His focus is on the art, and not being deceived, or robbed. We have got to be safe."

"In this business, there is no safety, Sarah. Only degrees of success or failure."

"We will succeed," affirmed Avram.

We smiled at each other, glad for the mutual support. We chatted as we listened to Av read. Each of us had interjections for Avram to add to the description. We all enjoyed the break.

Vincent van Gogh

Born on March 30, 1853 .

Died: Suicide on July 29, 1890.

Van Gogh produced all of his work completing some 900 paintings and 1100 drawings during only a 10-year span before yielding to bipolar mental illness. Yes, he committed suicide. His fame grew rapidly after his death especially following a showing of 71 of van Gogh's paintings in Paris on March 17, 1901. Only 11 years after his death, People had trouble pronouncing his name. Properly done, the name rhymes with loch, but it is also pronounced 'goph', 'go' and 'goe'.

Avram made the necessary additions, then continued to read.

Van Gogh's influence on expressionism, fauvism, and early abstraction was enormous, and may be seen in many other aspects of 20th-century art. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is dedicated to his work and that of his contemporaries. The Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo is located in The Netherlands, and rather nice collection of Vincent van Gogh paintings. Several Van Gogh paintings rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. On March 30, 1987 Van Gogh's painting Irises was sold for a record $53.9 million at Southeby's, New York. On May 15, 1990 his Portrait of Doctor Gachet was sold for $82.5 million at Christie's.

"Charlie what's fauvism?" Sarah asked. "I missed that day in art class."

I cracked up."We all missed days in art class." It was a short lived concept, about 10 years, I think. The movement came out of the post impressionism and Pointillism, you remember those little dots?"

Sarah chuckled, "yes."

I guess Matisse is the best artist to use to explain. He helped develop the style after finding Pointillism too confining. It became a forerunner for expressionism. It is considered a more expressive and somehow freer style of painting. They were not tied to any natural use of color. It is often applied straight from the paint tube in an aggressive,wild beast kind of way. Exaggeration was a key. I think that is the meaning of freer," I mused.

"I like Matisse"

"So do I, but not when he moved toward cubism."

Andre laughed, "I guess that makes it unanimous!"

Av went on, laughing in spurts..

Vincent was born in Zundert, The Netherlands. His father was a Protestant minister. Vincent found religion appealing and would be drawn to it later in his life. His sister described him as a serious and introspective child.

At age 16 Vincent worked for an art dealer, Goupil & Co., in The Hague. His four years younger brother Theo shared a life long friendship and joined the company later. Their friendship is documented in the letters they sent each other. These letters were preserved and published in 1914. They provide the insights so many write as they explore the life of the painter. The letters show Picasso as a talented writer with a sharp mind. Theo supported Vincent financially throughout his life.

Sarah soberly noted, "Mental illness truly destroys life."

Avram replied, "So many people are screwed up, it is amazing that anything works.

I agreed adding, "That is why we have to research our eccentric billionaires and their wants so closely. If we don't know. We may end up the one's being screwed!"

"Or dead," Avram added quietly.

We all paused and looked at each other. We all shifted uncomfortably in our chairs. I think each of us was resolving to get it right. We soon went back to the work at hand.

In 1873, his firm transferred him first to London, then to Paris. Religion became more and more a part of his focus. In 1876 lack of motivation led to losing his job at Goupil. A teaching assistant position in Ramsgate near London was a stopgap before he returned to Amsterdam to study theology in 1877.

Yet he quit that in 1878 and became a lay preacher in Borinage, Belgium, a poor mining region. He preached deep down in the mines expressing concern for the plight of the workers. He lost that job after 6 months but continued to serve without pay.

"yes, I remember. It was here he began to draw charcoal sketches." Sarah

"That's right," Avram grinned.