Living Well Is the Best Revenge

By Calvin Tomkins

Book Overview

A Lost Generation chronicle of a glamorous couple and a great American modernist painter

First published in 1971 and now available for a younger generation with a new introduction by the author, Living Well Is the Best Revenge is Calvin Tomkins' now-classic account of the lives of Gerald and Sara Murphy, two American expatriates who formed an extraordinary circle of friends in France during the 1920s. First in Paris and then in the seaside town of Antibes, they played host to a cast of some of the most memorable artists and writers of the era, including Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso, Fernand L�ger, Ernest Hemingway and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. It was in Paris that Gerald Murphy first encountered Cubist painting, which prompted him to embark on an all-too-brief career as a painter--roughly from 1922 to 1929--during which he produced 15 works, seven of which survive, and every one of which is a unique American modernist masterpiece. This dazzling phase of work was brought to a close in 1929, when one of the Murphys' sons, Patrick, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and the family returned to New York. When their second son, Boath, succumbed to meningitis in 1935, and Patrick's death followed shortly thereafter in 1937, Murphy hung up his brush. Despite the brevity of Murphy's oeuvre, the intensity of its conception and its recently acknowledged status as a crucial precedent to Pop art have elevated Murphy's reputation considerably. In 1974, The Museum of Modern Art mounted the first Gerald Murphy retrospective. Illustrated with nearly 70 photographs from the Murphys' family album and with a special section on Murphy's paintings, Living Well presents a fascinating Lost Generation chronicle as charming and enticing as the couple themselves.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087070897X
• ISBN13: 9780870708978
• Release Date: December 2013
• Publisher: Museum of Modern Art
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.7" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Lovely little book

Too bad the score for this book is skewed down by a couple of idiots. The Murphys were much more than "gracious hosts". They were catalysts. They were the Stein and Toklas of the Riviera, and probably lots more fun. And Gerald Murphy's paintings were as fine an achievement as Stein's scribblings. His works would fetch a fortune on the market, if they were ever available. Tomkins writes a moving and, in the end, melancholy biography. The title is apt. The tragedy in the Murphy's life is almost unbearable to read about. Interesting how their life parallels that of their friend Cole Porter -- brilliant fortune met with sudden misfortune. This book is about the arc of tragedy and one couple's effort to live through it. Anyone whose life has been touched by misfortune should read it.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

As an avid and diehard Fitzgerald fan, I seek out any material that covers him, his circle, or the "Lost Generation" in general. Though the book occupies less than two hundred pages, Tomkins does a fine job of making it feel warm and intimate. What's more, you get the privilege of learning about the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway, Cole Porter, Picasso and others. Gerald and Sara Murphy were a class act and lived life for no one but themselves. They seemed wonderfully down to earth and sympathetic to the situations of their friends and family. It seems they did indeed "write the book" on how to live right--The Fitzgeralds were said to have lived poorly on massive amounts of money while Gerald and Sara Murphy lived grandly on far less income; with them, it was not about appearances and pleasing society, but about family and togetherness. This wonderful little biography spans the 1910s to the 1960s in a relatively short breath and perhaps my only complaint is that there is not more. I certainly turned the last page wanting for more. If you are interested at all in "The Lost Generation" or the modernist movement, you will adore this book. Theirs was an evanescent time, one worth reading about and dreaming about.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

As an avid and diehard Fitzgerald fan, I seek out any material that covers him, his circle, or the "Lost Generation" in general. Though the book occupies less than two hundred pages, Tomkins does a fine job of making it feel warm and intimate. What's more, you get the privilege of learning about the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway, Cole Porter, Picasso and others. Gerald and Sara Murphy were a class act and lived life for no one but themselves. They seemed wonderfully down to earth and sympathetic to the situations of their friends and family. It seems they did indeed "write the book" on how to live right--The Fitzgeralds were said to have lived poorly on massive amounts of money while Gerald and Sara Murphy lived grandly on far less income; with them, it was not about appearances and pleasing society, but about family and togetherness. This wonderful little biography spans the 1910's to the 1960's in a relatively short breath and perhaps my only complaint is that there is not more. I certainly turned the last page wanting for more. If you are interested at all in "The Lost Generation" or the modernist movement, you will adore this book. Theirs was an evanescent time, one worth reading about and dreaming about.

Nothing succeeds like success...

This book truly proves that living well is really the best revenge.

A Fabulous Book

This is one of the most memorable books I've ever read, perfectly capturing the period and perils of that lost generation. Not only is the subject fascinating, but Calvin Tompkins' writing is beautiful and lyrical.