A beautifully written book about art, life, loss, and the morality of revenge that spans three Golden Ages – 17th century Holland, New York City in the 1950s, and Sydney in the year 2000. According to the author, each a time of “bullish optimism with its own dark underbelly”.
Sara de Vos is a fictional character based on Dutch women painters of the 1600s – she is the first female to be admitted to the Guild of St Luke (for painters and artists). Ellie Shipley is an Art History grad student at Columbia in the late 50s, with a lucrative side line in art consultancy and conservancy; Marty De Groot is a wealthy lawyer whose painting – the only de Vos painting known to exist – has been stolen from his house and replaced with a forgery. Although he feels it has brought nothing but unhappiness and early death to his family over their three hundred years of ownership, he feels compelled to track down the forger.
A well-paced story sprinkled with lucid technical details about painting, restoration (and forgery), and the care and transportation of art works as they cross the globe on inter-museum loans. Filled with Tom Wolfe-style social commentary (but less biting) and richly drawn characters with plausible insight into their own desires, motivations, and perils. It’s a shame the paintings described don’t exist as you’ll finish the novel longing to see them.
Books to look forward to ... 