An unexpected philanthropist and Jo's artful activism
Your values are your compass.
When I was a young mom living in New Jersey with two little munchkin preschoolers I donated money for a new neighborhood kiddie playground. When the fundraiser results were published, I remember being astonished to see the name of a bachelor I knew from church on the list of donors.
This guy drove a slick Maserati.
Commuted into NYC wearing a suit and briefcase. Always had cool hair. I was puzzled. His name felt incongruent next to the names of familiar rumpled families who had little kids.
Why had he contributed?
So, the next Sunday I corner him in the church parking lot. “I noticed you donated to the playground. Hey, why’d ya do that? Do you have kids in your life?”
He shook his head. “I get lots of fundraising mail like everybody else. When I see a request for money that goes to our town though, I always give. I’ve always felt that taking care of one’s own community is really important.”
Huh.
No specific personal gain (he didn’t have kids like the other donors). He valued community.
Obviously, this conversation has stuck with me.
Fast forward to me researching my book. I noticed the same idea of values being a compass, but this time, they also drove innovation.
Let me show you through a few examples about Jo van Gogh, the heroine of my historical novel, Saving Vincent, which is based on her true story.
[For new readers: After her husband Theo dies (Vincent van Gogh’s brother), Jo opens a boarding house to earn income, and then decides to prove that the hundreds of worthless Vincent van Gogh paintings she inherited are world-class to ensure her young son’s financial future.]
Good ol’ patriarchy and an entrenched status quo stand in her way, so Jo uses determination and resilience to ultimately save Vincent from obscurity.
It turns out her values inspire creativity.
Seeds planted in childhood
As a girl, Jo had lived in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s major shipping ports in the nineteenth century. Her father worked for a shipping newspaper. At the port, working conditions brought on by the frantic rise of the Industrial Revolution were harsh and dangerous.
What Jo saw as a little girl must have been unforgettable, for many years later in a letter to her (then) fiancé, Theo, she would write:
“I must tell you that I have always been keenly interested in finding a solution to the social question.. I remember even as a child I was plagued by this feeling of injustice towards the poor, and how I would keep asking Father what could be done about it. I used to think Father knew everything. Afterwards I began to have doubts about that as well and Father’s sermons about the small things we could do in our own lives were too narrow-minded, to my way of thinking.*
Caring about those in poverty was a core value for Jo. What she didn’t know when she wrote that letter, was that her compassion would bubble up again to spur how to be both philanthropic and expand access for the lower classes to see Vincent’s work. Here are three examples:
Haarlem Maison Hals (1885) - Jo brings work to a Dutch art dealer who uses the Maison Hals salon to exhibit art. Together they agree to donate entrance fees generated from the art exhibit to programs for poor relief and poverty prevention.
Gronengen Museum of Antiquities (1896) The museum presents a week-long exhibition of Vincent’s work. Jo arranges for boys from the local technical school and workers to get free admission. The show attracts 1600 visitors.
Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum (1905) - Jo sets a special ten-cent price of admission for members of the “Art to the People” association. Founded in 1903 by artists who were members of the socialist party (dedicated to women’s and worker rights), Jo feels that they’re kindred spirits.
The icing on the cake is that Vincent would have approved. In his letters, he wrote about feeling close to peasants and considered himself a laborer, so Jo’s outreach reflects Vincent’s principles too.
What are you drawn to? What do you enjoy? Do you see the underlining of your values in your interests?
I love mulling over these keys to our individuality and how they might spark our gift to the world.
An Invitation for You
This brings me to a lovely email exchange I had with a subscriber that touched on a passion of mine. I love community and bringing groups together.
For example, after I joined the Women’s Fiction Writers Association I started an affinity group with a handful of other historical fiction writers. We met once a week via Zoom and gradually our members grew through word-of-mouth. At its height, the group had nearly two hundred authors. The growth came about through our reputation for vibrant, fun, dynamic conversation. I handed the baton over to new leaders a year ago, and the group continues to thrive.
In this spirit of loving to be in community. I wonder if you—and your book club—would like to join me next year to talk about Saving Vincent? The email exchange mentioned earlier was all about booking a 2025 book club author visit with me.
How fun is that?!
See the flier below for more information. It would be a joy to get together with you!
Let your values be your compass.
Warmly,
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