Van Gogh, Monet among 62 works going to US gallery

Vincent van Gogh's Still Life of Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves has been transferred to the National Gallery of Art from the estate of Paul Mellon.[Photo/ Associated Press]

Rarely seen paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas are among an impressive collection of 62 artworks that have been transferred to the National Gallery of Art after being held for decades in a private estate, the museum said on May 22.

The paintings, sculptures and other works are among 110 objects bequeathed to the museum from the estate of museum benefactor Paul Mellon after his death in 1999. They remained in the care of his widow, Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, at their home until her death in March.

A major highlight of the bequest is Van Gogh's painting Still Life of Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves, which now joins the museum collection and will be put on display on June 7.

Acquiring any Van Gogh is cause for celebration, says curator Kimberly Jones, but this one is particularly important. It was created in a tumultuous moment in the artist's life during a brief time between hospitalizations after his mental break-down in 1888, when he cut off part of his ear.

As an artwork, it's" a real knockout", Jones says. "It's this very emotionally wrought period of time." Artist Paul Gauguin had moved out of the house they had shared, and Van Gogh was mourning the break in their relationship.

"I think this still life, of all the still lives, is the most Gauguin-like in terms of the palette, the symbolism....I can't help but wonder, looking at this, if Paul Gauguin's presence isn't being very much felt in this painting," Jones says.