Vincent van Gogh painted almost a thousand pictures in his life but he sold only one. And he never lived to find out that he would become one of the most famous artists who ever lived...
The painting he sold is called The Red Vineyard, made in Arles in 1888. It shows workers gathering grapes in a vineyard at sunset. It went for 400 francs, roughly two thousand dollars in today's money, at an exhibition in Brussels in early 1890.
The buyer was a Belgian painter and collector named Anna Boch, the sister of Van Gogh's friend Eugène Boch. Some believe she bought it partly out of solidarity, because his work had been mocked and dismissed, and she wanted him to have one small win.
That sale happened just months before his death in July 1890. He was thirty-seven and he had spent his life supported almost entirely by his brother Theo, convinced he was a burden, selling nothing, watching his paintings pile up unwanted in a world that had no use for them.
After his death, within a few decades, the man who sold a single canvas for 400 francs became one of the most beloved and valuable artists in human history. His Portrait of Dr. Gachet later sold for over 80 million dollars. His Irises for nearly 54. The Red Vineyard itself now hangs in the Pushkin Museum and no price could buy it.
Yet he died believing he had failed.
He once wrote something that says everything about a life spent making things no one wanted:
"What am I in the eyes of most people? A nonentity, or an eccentric, or a disagreeable person. Well then, I should want my work to show what is in the heart of such an eccentric, of such a nobody."
His work would go on to move the whole world, and he is the only one who never got to see it...
@StockSavvyShay Per CNBC Q2 2026 revenue: $180 million, versus $194 million expected (consensus). Your faulty data cost me. You haven't corrected it even after 12 hours. Data and timing are the most important factors in this business.
@MasterPandaWu I anticipated the support won't be broken today and it did bounce to 7428. 7380-7396 is the level SPX has tried in the last 4 sessions and bounced back, closing today at 7428. MAG7 is at play, chips already down big, we can only go up from here towards recovery unless Warsh...
@saxena_puru But @saxena_puru what about the margin debt? Historically the markets have reacted and what happened in South Korea could happen here as well. This is an opportunity to buy at much lower than now. Did you take this into consideration before adding?
@KobeissiLetter That is what happened so far. But $MAGS is up today, so the tide is shifting. It is tech bifurcation - semis vs mag 7. It is a rotational market, so $MAGS should get the love in the next rotation out of semis.
Highest Bearish Sentiment In a Year: (1) the latest AAII numbers recorded 52% bears, the highest since 4/3-4/10/25, when tariff scare hit. (2) However, at this juncture, I begin to feel BULLISH--first time in 2026. (3) tmrw marks a significant turning window--MPW leans bullish!
@MasterPandaWu Counter argument - after repeated attempts, this time it will push thru 7000 finally, especially given Mag 7 ($MAGS) is in play here - key differentiator this time. Tariff drama is the new normal, dovish FED is here and market has already factored in FOMC.
@MasterPandaWu Credit where it's due....well almost. But you went against the playbook your bosses swear by. Guess it wasn't a dead cat bounce at all. Let's play this again 😎
@mmonis Don't you think Buffett's interest in $GOOG and the macro background (labor deterioration) will push SPY to 7000 soon? I think this solidifies the bullish trend is intact. $NVDA isn't overvalued compared to P/E $COST and $WMT, has more runway.