Johanna Gezina van Gogh-Bonger (4 October 1862 – 2 September 1925) was a Dutch editor who translated the hundreds of letters of her first husband, art dealer Theo van Gogh, and his brother, painter Vincent van Gogh.
Van Gogh-Bonger played a key role in the growth of Vincent van Gogh's posthumous fame.
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Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh (Dutch: [teːjoːˈdoːrʏs ˈteːjoː vɑŋ ˈɣɔx]; 1 May 1857 – 25 January 1891) was a Dutch art dealer and a younger brother of Vincent van Gogh. His support of his older brother's artistic ambitions and well-being allowed Vincent to devote himself entirely to painting. As an art dealer, Van Gogh played a crucial role in introducing contemporary French art to the public.
Van Gogh died at the age of 33, six months after his brother's death at age 37. Van Gogh owned almost all of his brother's artwork. His widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, worked to promote the work of Vincent and keep the memory of her husband alive. In 1914, Van Gogh's remains were buried next to those of his brother Vincent.
The Letters of Vincent van Gogh is a collection of 903 surviving letters written (820) or received (83) by Vincent van Gogh. More than 650 of these were from Vincent to his brother Theo. The collection also includes letters van Gogh wrote to his sister Wil and other relatives, as well as between artists such as Paul Gauguin, Anthon van Rappard, and Émile Bernard.
Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, the wife of Vincent's brother Theo, spent many years after her husband's death in 1891 compiling the letters, which were first published in 1914. Arnold Pomerans, editor of a 1966 selection of the letters, wrote that Theo "was the kind of man who saved even the smallest scrap of paper", and it is to this trait that the public owes the 663 letters from Vincent.