An Artful Affair

By Corinna Clendenen

Book Overview

A painter, an auctioneer and an art critic are embroiled in a love triangle, forgeries and ambition gone awry in An Artful Affair. Set in 1977, this suspenseful New York story of three young people... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1413441556
• ISBN13: 9781413441550
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Xlibris Corp
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.4" x 0.9" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

This book's next stop should be at the box office

I thoroughly enjoyed An Artful Affair. I found the topic, the descriptions of the City, and the author's knowledge of art and the art world fascinating. It's particularly timely read given the recent art heists and controversy about WWII ownership. The characters and their lives are varied and interesting. They represesnt the whole continuum from monied collectors, who have no real right to own what they can afford, to talented, but neglected artists who fight against the pre-conceived notions of what's good art and society's hesitancy to break out of it's mold. Yet, there's nothing stereotypical about them. I found myself able to vividly visualize the characters, their lives and the book's events. A special treat is that New York City comes alive in this book. You can almost feel the grit downtown and smell the doorman's leather shoes in the opulent places on Park Avenue. The author presents the perspectives of characters who deal, buy, steal, love, cheat, are crushed, and succeed in the world of art. But, she never makes a judgment for the reader on who should win and who shouldn't. Someone should make a movie from An Artful Affair. It has the right conflict, ethical issues and pace to be successful in film!

Terrific view inside the art world

I loved this book. The story was so compelling I stayed up late to finish it-- wonderful characters, great plot. I also loved the website at www.corinnaclendenen.com. It has a whole page of links to paintings referred to in the book, including info about the artists, their other work, the museums that house them, etc. I also really liked the website's readers' discussion questions--they prompted one of the best discussions in my book group ever. Great stuff, all around.

Great read for art world veterans and novices alike

Veterans of the art world will delight in the accurate and intriguing portrayal of the scene, as well as the time period (70s). Art world novices will learn a bit, and won't feel at sea with the art-related story line because the characters are interesting and their story draws you in irrespective of the art. A very enjoyable page-turner that has you interested in the characters and their respective fates from the get go. Not pretentious at all--just a damned good story, skillfully written. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good read!

Amazing portrait of the New York art scene

This is the only novel I've ever read that really sounds like the art world. Usually the auction houses are portrayed as no more than props with a lot of rich socialites runing around, but this book really gets you past the lobby. The portrait of the artist's studio is also very accurate. Clendenen's dedication fits the story: "To all the artists out there, poets and painters alike." I also loved the incredible cast of characters, some of whom I swear I've seen myself in the galleries. The story is fast-paced and entertaining with characters you can get attached to. It's one of those books that when I reached the end I wished it weren't over. A great read. Just make sure you have enough free time to read it when you pick up the book - I couldn't put it down.

fantastic

this book is an excellent portrayal of the art world. fasinating and intriguing read that supplies a great plot with great character development in the interesting setting of the art world. a must read!!