From 2001 to 2010, as Steven Naifeh and Greg Smith researched their New York Times bestseller Van Gogh: The Life, they built a collection of over 30 works by artists who influenced Van Gogh’s aesthetic thinking. Van Gogh and His Inspirations is an original exhibition organized by the CMA that brings the work of one of the most beloved artists in the world to Columbia, South Carolina, alongside a variety of handpicked paintings and drawings that shaped his vision.