O’Higgins (nee Paul Higgins) was a Utahn by birth (something he ever mentioned), but a Mexican by choice. He chose art as a profession, studying with Diego Rivera. His politics were radical left. And led a rather enigmatic life.

According to Carma Wadley (in the SLTrib): “Higgins’ father, Edward was an assistant attorney general, and was one of the attorneys who urged the Utah Supreme Court to uphold the trial court’s conviction of Joe Hill and go forward with his execution. Higgins was 11 at the time of the execution. He never made reference to it after he moved to Mexico, but it might have influenced his future political views.”

At the age of 20, Higgins moved to Mexico and became an assistant to Diego Rivera. He worked for Rivera for several years, and along the way, he changed his name to Pablo Esteban O’Higgins and joined the Mexican Communist Partty. Eventually he set up his own shop with the intent of spreading politically inspired images to often-illiterate audiences. O’Higgins eventually became a Mexican citizen. After Stalin, he became less committed to the Communist party, but retain his interest in socialist causes.

Throughout O’Higgins’ life you can see a sustained interest in Mexico’s working class and their struggle for freedom.

The narrator also mentioned that Van Gogh failed as an art dealer, failed as a missionary, failed in love, and was a financial failure. I also was less than a successful missionary. Particularly in the Borinage area of Belgium.

When comparing Van Gogh to Millet, he writes: “There is an explosive energy in the pciture and a coloristic stridency that are the very negation of all that Millet stood for.” “And Van Gogh screams where Millet demurely murmurs.”