Lust for Life (film) Lust for Life (film) Lust for Life is a 1956 American biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Irving Stone which was adapted for the screen by Norman Corwin. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman. The film stars Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh, James Donald as his brother Theo, with Pamela Brown, Everett Sloane, and Anthony Quinn. Douglas won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance, while Quinn won the Academy Award for
Vincent van Gogh (Russell painting) in the possession of his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, and then their son, William Vincent van Gogh. The portrait is now on permanent loan to Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum. Russell's portrait is unique among those of Van Gogh in that it is the only one by his contemporaries in which he makes direct eye contact with the viewer. Noting Van Gogh's sharp gaze, art critic Laura Cumming said Russell's portrait provides an "intimate and intense" encounter with the artist. In his 1939 autobiography, Hartrick called the portrait "an admirable likeness, more so than any of those by [Van Gogh] or