I am pleased to share a new interview and article with you!
Jennifer S. Alderson Interviews Arjan Van Heemsvliet from The Lover’s Portrait: An Art Mystery
The art dealer in The Lover’s Portrait, Arjan van Heemsvliet was an unwilling guest on the History Imagined website this week. You can read more about his upbringing and daily life during the Second World War, here.
“It is an honor to interview preeminent art dealer Arjan van Heemsvliet today. Since the publication of The Lover’s Portrait, readers have wanted to know more about this very private man’s personal life and family history… He has agreed to meet with me at Galerie Van Heemsvliet, his art gallery on the Spiegelgracht in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Recent developments make him reluctant to leave it for long. It is April 1942 and the Nazis occupation of the city makes travel difficult, yet I am miraculously on time for our appointment. Though we are speaking in Dutch, I have translated the interview into English for the convenience of interested readers…”
Asmat Bis Poles and Rituals of the Dead
Huge thanks to mystery author Lucia N. Davis for sharing my article about Asmat bis poles and my upcoming artifact mystery, Rituals of the Dead.
“I am so excited to announce the impending release of my third novel, Rituals of the Dead: An Artifact Mystery. Set in Amsterdam and Papua New Guinea, it combines anthropology, art, and history into one thrilling adventure. It’s been a joy to write because the subject matter is near and dear to my heart…
The exhibition central to my artifact mystery is based on an actual exhibition of bis poles entitled Bis poles: Sculptures of the Rainforest. They are ancestor objects akin to Native American totem poles. They were created to honor dead ancestors during a six-week long ‘bis’ or headhunting ceremony.”
Read ‘Asmat Bis Poles and Rituals of the Dead’ now on Lucia N. Davis’s blog.
