Van Gogh goes on display before sale of ‘almost mythical’ private collection

Châtaigniers en fleurs, valued at $180m, to be auctioned along with 11 other works by likes of Cézanne and MonetFor more than 50 years it was held in a private art collection with an “almost mythical status” that was likened to a miniature version of Paris’s Musée d’Orsay. But on Wednesday a painting by Vincent Van Gogh created during the last two months of his life has gone on display before it is put up for auction with a value of $180m (£136m).