Portrait of an Unknown Lady by Maria Gainza

Portrait of an Unknown Lady by Maria Gainza

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

New York Times Notable author Mar a Gainza, who dazzled critics with Optic Nerve, returns with the captivating story of an auction house employee on the trail of an enigmatic master forger

In the Buenos Aires art world, a master forger has achieved legendary status. Rumored to be a woman, she specializes in canvases by the painter Mariette Lydis, a portraitist of Argentinean high society. But who is this absurdly gifted creator of counterfeits? What motivates her? And what is her link to the community of artists who congregate, night after night, in a strange establishment called the Hotel Melanc lico?

On the trail of this mysterious forger is our narrator, an art critic and auction house employee through whose hands counterfeit works have passed. As she begins to take on the role of art-world detective, adopting her own methods of deception and manipulation, she warns us not to proceed in expectation of names, numbers or dates . . . My techniques are those of the impressionist.

Driven by obsession and full of subtle surprise, Portrait of an Unknown Lady is a highly seductive and enveloping meditation on what we mean by authenticity in art, and a captivating exploration of the gap between what is lived and what is told.

Gainza, Maria: - Marü¾™†”¼a Gainza was born in Buenos Aires, where she still resides. She has worked as a correspondent for The New York Times in Argentina. Optic Nerve is her first work of fiction and her first book to be translated into English.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781646220328
ISBN 10	1646220323
Title	Portrait of an Unknown Lady
Author	Maria Gainza
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Catapult
Year published	2022-03-22
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.