Vincent van Gogh’s visceral, vibrant paintings and difficult life, which led him to kill himself at age 37 in 1890, have had an enduring hold on the public.

“He is an unusual combination of someone whose art has an instant appeal to people and a human interest story that is astonishing,” said van Gogh expert Martin Bailey, author of “Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum.” “You can see the enormous appetite for van Gogh growing certainly by the decade and almost by the year.”

At least nine exhibitions on the Dutch artist are in the works at museums around the world, including three opening this month in Houston, London and Amsterdam. This confluence has exacerbated the difficulty curators have always had in getting loans of prized van Goghs.