Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Stephen P. Kiernan. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!
In 2006, Sotheby’s sells a painting by Jackson Pollock for $140 million—the highest sum ever paid for a work of art. Two weeks later, an older woman named Ruth Kligman, in high heels and a dusty fascinator, contacts a smaller, less prominent auction house to announce that she was Pollock’s lover, and that he gave her his last painting. She declares that it was selfish to keep it in her apartment for fifty years, and that people should see this masterpiece in galleries and museums the world over. The bidding will start at $50 million. Gwen is the associate at the firm assigned the task of verifying the painting.
This was a fascinating look into Pollock, his work, his lifestyle, even his death, but more so the women who circle him and both idolize him and struggle against him. It's told through alternating time periods as we go back and imagine Ruth's life with Pollock as well as Pollock's wife, Lee. In 2006, we see Gwen's world as she's trying to make a name for herself and still stick to her principles. I'm not much of an art person, but learning about Pollock was interesting. I loved the look back into how smartphones were first viewed when they entered the scene, as Gwen was an early adopter. There are some good thoughts even then about how we experience the world through a device.
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