Which artist only sold one of his 1500+ paintings and drawings while alive?

We don't know exactly how many paintings Van Gogh sold during this lifetime, but in any case, it was more than a couple. Vincent's first commission was from his uncle Cor. He was an art dealer and wanted to help his nephew on his way, so he ordered 19 cityscapes of The Hague.

Vincent sold his first painting to the Parisian paint and art dealer Julien Tanguy, and his brother Theo successfully sold another work to a gallery in London. The Red Vineyard, which Vincent painted in 1888, was bought by Anna Boch, the sister of Vincent's friend Eugène Boch.

Van Gogh often traded work with other artists - in his younger years, often in exchange for some food or drawing and painting supplies. In this sense, Vincent actually 'sold' quite a lot of work during his lifetime.