Upon Van Gogh's arrival at the asylum of Saint-Rémy in spring 1889, the olive trees that grew in cultivated groves near the walls of the sanitarium took on great significance for him.

the artist's brother, Theo van Gogh, Paris (1890–d. 1891; sent to him by the artist on January 3, 1890); his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam, in trust for their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh (1891–her d. 1925); Vincent Willem van Gogh, Amsterdam (1925–26; sold in 1926 to A. Mak, Amsterdam, apparently as agent for Wildenstein, with Paul Rosenberg, Paris, as intermediary); [Wildenstein, New York and London, 1926–37; sold on November 1, 1937 for £5,750 to Schuster]; Sir Victor Schuster, London (1937–47; purchased, in part, through exchange of "Women Picking Olives" by Van Gogh [MMA 1995.535]; sale, Sotheby's, London, July 26, 1939, no. 76, bought in for £4,000 by Carlson as agent for Schuster; deposited with Schuster collection for safekeeping at The Tate Gallery, London, from July 1940; with The Lefevre Gallery [Alex. Reid & Lefevre], London, until no later than December 1946, when consigned by Schuster to Wildenstein; sold by Schuster about September 1947 to Mayor); [Mayor Galleries, London, 1947–50; sold in May 1950 to Feilchenfeldt]; [Walter Feilchenfeldt, Zurich, from 1950; sold to Simon]; Simon, Switzerland (until d. 1953); his widow (1953; sold on October 27 via Francart S.A., Zug, Switzerland, to Lefevre); [The Lefevre Gallery (Alex. Reid and Lefevre), London, 1953–54; sold on May 11, 1954 to Salz]; [Sam Salz, New York, 1954; sold on May 15 to Annenberg]; Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (1954–98; jointly with MMA, 1998–his d. 2002)

Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum. "Tentoonstelling van Schilderijen en Teekeningen door Vincent van Gogh," July–August 1905, no. 202 [see Ref. La Faille 1928].

New York. Armory of the Sixty-ninth Regiment. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," February 17–March 15, 1913, no. 430 or 434 (as "Le grand olivier," or "Paysage d'Arles," both lent by MM. Artz & de Bois) [see Refs. Brown 1988, Heijbroek and Wouthuysen 1993].

Art Institute of Chicago. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," March 24–April 16, 1913, no. 414 or 418 (as "The big olive tree," or "Landscape, Arles," both lent by Artz and Du Bois) [see Refs. Brown 1988, Heijbroek and Wouthuysen 1993].

Copley Hall, Copley Society of Boston. "International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)," April 28–May 19, 1913, no. 219 or 223 (as "The Big Olive Tree" or "Landscape, Arles," both lent by M. Artz and De Bois) [see Refs. Brown 1988, Heijbroek and Wouthuysen 1993].

New York. Montross Gallery. "Vincent van Gogh," October 23–?, 1920, no. 49 or 54 (as "Olive Orchard" or "Olives") [see Refs. Rishel 1991, La Faille 1928 and 1970].

New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. "French Masters of the XIX Century," March–April 1927, no catalogue [see Refs. Art News 1927, Fisher 1969].

St. Louis. City Art Museum. "An Exhibition of Paintings & Prints by the Masters of Post-Impressionism," April 4–26, 1931, no. 36 (as "The Olive Grove," lent by Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York).

Detroit Institute of Arts. "Modern French Painting," May 22–June 30, 1931, no. 47 (as "Olive Trees," lent by the Wildenstein Galleries, New York).

Los Angeles Museum. "European Paintings by Old and Modern Masters: An Exhibition Arranged by Wildenstein and Company, Paris, London, New York," June 13–August 5, 1934, no. 17 (as "Les Oliviers").

London. Alex. Reid & Lefevre, Ltd.. "French Paintings of the XIXth & XXth Centuries," August 7–29, 1942, no. 9 (as "Oliviers").

London. Lefevre Gallery. "Delacroix to Dufy: French Paintings of the 19th and 20th Centuries," June–July 1946, no. 55.

Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. "Vincent van Gogh," July 3–August 4, 1957, no. 16 (as "Olive Trees," lent by Mr. and Mrs. M. W. [sic] Annenberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Summer Loan Collections," July 4–September 2, 1963, no catalogue.

London. Tate Gallery. "The Annenberg Collection," September 2–October 8, 1969, no. 20 (as "Les Oliviers, St.-Remy").

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," May 21–September 17, 1989, unnumbered cat. (as "Olive Trees: Pale Blue Sky").

Washington. National Gallery of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," May 6–August 5, 1990, unnumbered cat.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," August 16–November 11, 1990, unnumbered cat.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection," June 4–October 13, 1991, unnumbered cat.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [about November 21, 1889] [English transl. published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 233, letter no. 615], writes that he has completed five size 30 canvases of olive orchards.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Émile Bernard. [about November 20, 1889] [English transl. published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, pp. 522–23, 525, letter no. B21], discusses the paintings of olive orchards that he is currently working on, and states that he has just finished five size 30 canvases of this subject.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [January 3, 1890] [English transl. published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 243, letter no. 621], writes that among the group of canvases sent to Theo that day are four of olive trees, one of which is this picture.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his sister Willemien. [about May 20, 1890] [English transl. published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 469, letter no. W21], writes that he would have liked her to see his paintings of olive orchards with their different skies of yellow, pink, and blue.

"Exhibitions in New York; Paintings from the Rosenberg Collection; Wildenstein Galleries." Art News 25 (March 19, 1927), p. 9, mentions this painting among sixteen on view from the Paul Rosenberg collection [Exh. New York 1927].

J.-B. de La Faille. L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné. Paris, 1928, vol. 1, p. 201–2, no. 708; vol. 2, pl. 199.

"St. Louis Shows Art of the Post Impressionists." Art News 29 (April 18, 1931), p. 5.

W. Scherjon. Catalogue des tableaux par Vincent van Gogh décrits dans ses lettres. Périodes: St. Rémy et Auvers sur Oise. Utrecht, 1932, pp. 20, 78, 80–81, no. 8, ill.

W. Scherjon and Jos. De Gruyter. Vincent van Gogh's Great Period: Arles, St. Rémy and Auvers sur Oise (complete catalogue). Amsterdam, 1937, pp. 210, 268, 270–71, St. Rémy no. 8, ill.

J.-B. de La Faille. Vincent van Gogh. London, [1939], pp. 498, 559, 577, 589, no. 723, ill., as in the Wildenstein collection.

Joseph S. Trovato in 1913 Armory Show: 50th Anniversary Exhibition, 1963. Exh. cat., Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute Utica, NY. New York, 1963, p. 191, tentatively identifies it as no. 434 in the New York venue of the Armory Show [Exh. New York 1913].

M. Roy Fisher. The Annenberg Collection. Exh. cat., Tate Gallery. London, 1969, unpaginated, no. 20, ill. (color).

J.-B. de La Faille. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 275, 639, no. 708, ill. p. 274, as "Olive Trees: Pale Blue Sky"; dates it September–November 1889.

Paolo Lecaldano. "Da Arles a Auvers." L'opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici. 2, repr. [1st ed., 1966]. Milan, 1971–77, pp. 223–24, no. 738, ill., dates it September–November 1889.

Jan Hulsker. The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 422, 424, 427, no. 1855, ill.

Evert van Uitert. "Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin in Competition: Vincent's Original Contribution." Simiolus 11, no. 2 (1980), p. 103 n. 83.

Ronald Pickvance The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. New York, 1986, pp. 16–17, 53, 55, 58–59, 98, 160–61, 166–67, 304, 318, ill. p. 306 and fig. 37.

Milton W. Brown. The Story of the Armory Show. 2nd ed. [1st ed., Greenwich, Conn., 1963]. New York, 1988, p. 272, ill. p. 199 (installation photo), identifies this painting as no. 434 in the New York venue of the Armory Show [Exh. New York 1913]; publishes an installation photo of the Chicago venue.

Roland Dorn in Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914. Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Freren, Germany, 1990, pp. 158, 160.

Jan Hulsker. Vincent and Theo van Gogh: A Dual Biography. Trans. and rev. ed. [1st ed. Weesp, Holland, 1985]. Ann Arbor, Mich., 1990, p. 386.

Jérôme Coignard. "Le Salon de peinture de Mr. et Mrs. Annenberg." Beaux arts no. 92 (July–August 1991), p. 72, ill. in color, front cover, pp. 5, 62–63 (overall and details).

Joseph J. Rishel in Masterpieces of Impressionism & Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1991, pp. 106–7, 199, ill. (color and black and white).

J[an]. F[rederik]. Heijbroek and E[ster]. L. Wouthuysen. Kunst, Kennis en Commercie: De Kunsthandelaar J. H. de Bois (1878–1946). Amsterdam, 1993, p. 197, ill. pp. 44 (installation photo), 197, state that Artz & de Bois owned this work in 1912 and lent it to the New York venue of the Armory Show as no. 430, with an asking price of $5,200 [Exh. New York 1913].

Jan Hulsker. Vincent van Gogh: A Guide to His Work and Letters. Amsterdam, 1993, pp. 17, 42, 56–57, 61, 76.

Jan Hulsker. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 424, 426–27, no. 1855, ill.

Ira Berkow. "Jewels in the Desert." Art News 97 (May 1998), p. 147, ill. p. 145 (color, installation photo).

Susan Alyson Stein in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1998–1999." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 57 (Fall 1999), p. 46, ill. (color).

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers. [New York], 1999, pp. 248–50, ill. p. 251 (color).

Joan E. Greer. "A Modern Gethsemane: Vincent van Gogh's 'Olive Grove'." Van Gogh Museum Journal (2001), p. 109 n. 5.

Madeleine Korn. "Collecting Paintings by Van Gogh in Britain Before the Second World War." Van Gogh Museum Journal (2002), p. 137, states that Sir Victor Schuster bought this picture by 1939.

Viviane Rosé Universite de Toulouse-Le-Mirail. Temps, Affect, Sensation: de Cézanne à Matisse. 1, Lille, [2003], pp. 229–30.

Martin Bailey in Van Gogh and Britain: Pioneer Collectors. Exh. cat., Compton Verney, Warwickshire. Edinburgh, 2006, p. 126.

Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker. Vincent van Gogh: Painted with Words, The Letters to Émile Bernard. Exh. cat., Morgan Library & Museum. New York, 2007, pp. 345, 353 n. 15.

Joseph J. Rishel in Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection. 4th rev. ed. [1st ed., 1989]. New York, 2009, pp. 212–16, 218, no. 40, ill. (color).

Susan Alyson Stein in Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection. 4th rev. ed. [1st ed., 1989]. New York, 2009, p. 224.

In late November 1889 while in Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh wrote to both his brother Theo and Émile Bernard that he had completed five paintings of olive trees on size 30 canvases, his second group of pictures of olive orchards. The five works include this one and versions in the Göteborgs Konstmuseum (F586), Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo (F587), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (F707), and Minneapolis Institute of Arts (F710).