B. A. Shapiro wrote The Art Forger (which I read not too long ago) and The Muralist. I guess I have been reading a lot of art books. Both of these books are historical fiction. I enjoy getting into the head of an artist. This time the art is abstract which is more difficult for me to appreciate. The artist, Alizee Benoit, is fictional but her lover is Mark Rothko who was a real artist. Her friends include Jason Pollock, also a real artist. Alizee is Jewish and she has family in France that she is trying to get visas for because the Nazis are in France. Alizee works for the WPA (Works Projects Administration - one of the new deal institutions set up by Franklin Delano Roosevelt). When Eleanor Roosevelt comes to visit the artists working on murals Alizee seeks her assistance to include abstract art as well as representational art. Eleanor helps Alizee get her abstracts included in a contract. Later Alizee asks Eleanor Roosevelt for assistance in rescuing her family. I enjoy historical fiction and I certainly enjoyed The Muralist.
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