The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

In 1958, Eleanor (Ellie) Shipley is a young Australian art student struggling to get by in New York and finding it difficult to finish her studies. An art dealer friend of questionable repute persuades her to forge a copy of a painting called “At the Edge of the Wood”, perhaps the only work attributed to one of the few female Dutch artists of the mid-17th Century, Sara de Vos. The original belongs to wealthy patent attorney, Marty de Groot, and plans are put in place to secretly swap the forgery for the original during a party at his apartment. Forward to 2000 in Sydney, and Ellie is helping to curate an exhibition on female artists of the Dutch Golden Age. To her dismay, both the original painting and the forgery are being submitted and she fears her reputation and whole career are at stake should her past catch up with her.
 
The 17th century narrative takes us inside the Amsterdam life of Sara who, in partnership with her husband, manages to earn a living from her art although she is forced to paint flowers rather than the landscapes she would prefer. When tragedy strikes, Sara is on her own and must forge a new life in the countryside.
 
Multi-strand novels of this type are often classified as historical fiction even if the contemporary, or near-contemporary, narratives are more dominant which, in this case, are the stories of Ellie and Marty, with Sara the echo in her own landscape.

This is a profound exploration of art, ethics and the human condition, and there is so much more here than just a story of an art heist. As in a painting, the characters all develop their own shades and layers and the conclusion draws the three narrative strands together in an unpredictable way. The descriptions of 17th Century Holland are especially evocative, and the details behind creating art forgeries fascinating.

An excellent work but not quite five stars from me because I had more empathy for Sara than I did for the others and I should have liked to spend more time in her world and to get to her know her a little better. 
 
There are two covers shown for this book and the USA/UK one with the woman with scarf is far more dynamic and eye-catching than the wintry one which apparently will be on the Australian edition.

Many thanks for NetGalley for the advance proof copy. (Hoping the few editorial slips will be picked up in the final copy, including that medicinal quinine has no connection to quinoa!)

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Booktopia Australia

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