A tangled and vividly intimate portrait of the women caught in Picasso’s charismatic orbit through the affairs, the scandals, and the art—only this time, they hold the brush.
Alana Olson always felt connected to Pablo Picasso. As a recently graduated art historian and aspiring writer in 1950s New York, Alana was bound to encounter the most renowned artist of the era, but it was her late Spanish mother’s particular fascination with the man that inspired Alana’s doctoral thesis on his work.
An assignment for a profile on Picasso from her dream publication leads Alana to intimate interviews with Sara Murphy and Irene Legut—women from a once-vibrant social circle that included the artist. Through their conversations, the women paint a luxurious picture of their time along the French Riviera in 1923, revealing to Alana not only an intimate glimpse into the life and work of the genius, but also unseen works of art, memories of a whirlwind romance, and hidden details that bring Alana closer to Picasso then she ever imagined.
Desperate to know the man who influenced so many parts of her life, Alana dives into the glamorous lives of the past. But to do so she must contend with her own reality, including a strained engagement, the male-dominated world of art journalism, and the rising threat to civil rights in America.
