Elisabeth Huberta van Gogh

Elisabeth ‘Lies’ Huberta van Gogh went to boarding school in Leeuwarden in 1873, and later to another boarding school in Tiel. In 1878 she failed her examinations in English and French. In 1880 she went to Soesterberg as the companion and carer of Catharina Marianne Louise van Willes, who was married to Jean Philippe Theodore du Quesne van Bruchem (1840-1921), a lawyer and judge. In 1891, two years after his wife’s death, Lies married Jean. They had one child born out of wedlock, Hubertine Normance, to whom Lies gave birth secretly in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in France, as well as four children after they married.

Lies wrote poetry and prose, and made a name for herself with her book "Vincent van Gogh. Personal reminiscences of an artist", 1910, but its many defects made it controversial. It was amended and republished in 1923 as "Vincent van Gogh. Reminiscences of her brother".