I am thrilled to be participating in Pauline Barclay’s new blog feature – Yesterday Uncovered! Pauline is an accomplished author and the founder of the Chill with a Book Awards. Her latest feature will shine a spotlight on a different decade every month this year.
This month, readers can learn more about the inspiration and background research needed to write The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery.
Here’s a teaser:
What inspired you to write about the 1940s?
While studying art history at the University of Amsterdam, the restitution of Nazi-looted artwork was a hot topic, both in my lectures and in the national media. Jacques Goudstikker’s heirs were in the process of claiming hundreds of paintings spread throughout Dutch museums and the lawsuit was quite controversial. We also spent many hours discussing an (unrelated) exhibition of artwork stolen by the Nazis, unclaimed paintings and sculptures still in the care of the Dutch government. The exhibition – Looted, But From Whom? – was meant to garner the collection media attention in the hopes the legal owners or their heirs would come forward and claim them. The Goudstikker claim and Looted exhibition merged in my mind and inspired the plot of The Lover’s Portrait…
Click here to read the rest of the article on Pauline’s blog. Please do take a look and let me know what you think in a comment!
There are also six more fascinating posts about books set in the 1940s on her blog – all worth reading.
October is dedicated to the 1960s – watch her blog for a post about Rituals of the Dead!
Thanks and take care.
