Reviewed by Susan Latreille

The Personal Librarian (2021) by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

An Object of Beauty (2010) by Steve Martin

This month’s review looks at two very different novels sharing one basic theme, the highs and lows in the world of acquiring famous art; one story is historical biographical fiction whilst the other is modern fiction. Both have female protagonists focusing their lives on the acquisition of great art. Both women are ruthless, albeit in very different ways, in their desire to become prominent in the art world, not as artists themselves, but as renowned for their prowess in acquiring great and valuable art. The story of one woman is a fictionalized biography set at the turn of 20^th century New York; the second story is set in more modern times, 1990s New York. Read on to find out the stories of two ambitious women with secrets, secrets that, if exposed, would be the ruination of their careers.

“The Personal Librarian” (2021), by Marie Benedict, known for her fictionalized portrayals of women who have made an impact on history, and Victoria Christopher Murray, a contemporary author, is a little-known story about a woman who achieved great heights in New York’s artistic and literary circles. Belle da Costa Greene, as a young woman, becomes personal librarian to magnate J. P. Morgan. She is responsible, as curator, for his collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork housed in his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. At Morgan’s behest, Belle becomes much sought after in New York’s social scene and, very soon, she becomes renowned for her acumen and prowess at acquiring rare and exquisite pieces for what is fast becoming a world-class collection at the Morgan Library. 

Belle has acquired a status and reputation not yet achieved by women in the art world. Hers is an interesting and informative story of what women can strive for and achieve under what seemed to be, and still often is, insurmountable circumstances.

“An Object of Beauty” (2010) is a novel by actor and comedian Steve Martin (who is also an esteemed art collector and supporter of the art world as well as a pretty darn good writer!). In “An Object of Beauty” we follow the life of Lacey Yeager, a young and ambitious woman navigating the art world in New York City from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.

Lacey is determined to climb the ranks of the art world by whatever means available to her, including her charm, intelligence, and connections. Just as we did with Belle in “The Personal Librarian”, through Lacey’s story, we continue to learn about some of the intricacies of the art market, including buying and selling, as well as the relationships between artists, collectors, dealers, and critics, and in so doing we encounter some of the darker aspects of the art world, the pressures of maintaining success, the temptations of wealth and fame, and the moral compromises made in pursuit of goals. 

The protagonists in these two novels are intelligent, ambitious women. Both Belle and Lacey use feminine wiles to their best advantage and, in their own way, each is quite a ruthless woman. Belle, at her first auction, says — “Being a woman, I know that I must do my job twice as well as any man to be thought half as good.” Sad to say, that more than seventy years later Lacey could have voiced those exact same words. Both stories explore themes of ambition, desire, and the pursuit of beauty, whilst we’re also set amidst the excesses and ethical dilemmas of the art market. Thankfully, the bonus in these stories is that both Belle and Lacey will take you on a great exploration of the art world, including famous art galleries, auction houses, and private collections.

Martin has made the visualization of the artwork an easy task with 20+ coloured plates of famous works (or perhaps some not-so-famous art – I’m not a student of art history, so who am I to say!) which are all incorporated in some manner into the telling of the story. Nevertheless, you probably will still be reaching out for more information on the art portrayed. Benedict has made the task somewhat harder as you either internalize her descriptions of ancient works such as illuminated manuscripts or the magnificent Pierpont Morgan Library, itself a work of art (now known as the Morgan Library and Museum), or you let Google help with the process. Whatever you choose there is much art to appreciate in “The Personal Librarian” and in “An Object of Beauty”.

The SDG library system has copies of both books; they are also available at Amazon and Chapters/Indigo. I was lucky to have CAGAC’s esteemed Treasurer Yvonne loan me her copy of “An Object of Beauty”.