Portrait in Red: A Paris Obsession

by L. John Harris

The quest to uncover the history of a mysterious painting, and a joyous exploration of art in the twentieth century and beyond.

While wandering the streets of Paris in 2015, L. John Harris finds an abandoned, unfinished, and strangely compelling painting. The a girl wearing a bright-red head covering, fixing her viewer with a foreboding gaze. The painting bears no signature, only the January 12, 1935. Harris, a journalist and illustrator, embarks on a multi-year quest to uncover the story behind this painting. His sleuthing has given birth to Portrait in Red, a wide-ranging exploration of art and its enduring mysteries.

With wit and a contagious enthusiasm, Harris traces unexpected connections between Paris on the eve of World War II, his bohemian life in the San Francisco Bay Area, the aura of original paintings, the magic of found objects, and the aesthetics of a perfect croque monsieur. Portrait in Red will delight lovers of Edmund de Waal's The Hare with Amber Eyes or Michael Finkel's The Art Thief. By turns heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, it is an existential detective story, set among world tragedies, art-historical epiphanies, and comic hijinks.

Genres: Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2024

Reviews

[MH · Rating 3 out of 5]

While in Paris, a Bay Area food writer and self-styled flâneur discovers a discarded portrait of a young girl, takes it home, and uses it as a catalyst to begin thinking about art, Paris, and himself. Despite the publisher marketing the book as a "detective story" and a "quest to discover the story behind his painting," it really isn't - Harris himself says that "it doesn't really matter who threw out the portrait, or who painted it or who the sitter is" (131). It's a far more personal journey, and the value for the reader will be in how much they enjoy Harris's company as he traipses through Paris, London and Berkeley, shows the portrait around to his well-connected art world friends, and reflects on art and his relationship to it.

And since Harris spends a great deal of time thinking about Walter Benjamin's writing on the aura of the art object, it should be said that the book itself is extremely handsome.

I won a copy through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Sara Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have a lot of thoughts about this. overall, i was completely invested in finding out more about this painting, i think it's a really cool painting, and that drove me to keep reading to find out who painted it and where it came from. there was also some great characters in it, like the angry gallery owner, the british woman who sees multiples of things, all the boomers commenting on facebook, etc. the fact that this earnest author was so stoked on this painting while so many people couldn't care less was really infectious. but it was like 6 chapters too long at the end, too many random berkeley name drops, and a bit of an unsatisfying ending. 3.5 stars.

[Arlette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been hesitant when it came to memoirs they were boring ànd such. So I gave this one a try it is better than the others I've had. I am guessing due to the fact it's about art and finding the past. Even so I feel things could have been removed to make this book shorter. It also feels incomplete since we trullt didn't find the true ending we were hoping for. Though that docent mean we won't find out. Maybe one day. Even so lovely story of finding about the past of a painting hope to find out the truth one day.

[Ann Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was enchanted by this book. I absolutely loved his detailed descriptions of posting and checking on the status of his poster of the artwork in Paris. My son and his family live in Berkeley, as does the author, and his descriptions of it are wonderful. This does such a good job describing the mind of a collector, and his pure devotion to the painting he is determined to learn more about. I come from an artistic family with collector tendencies so this is familiar territory. And- I love the painting!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale of finding a painting on curb in Paris and the search to find the identity of the artist. The author leads us from Paris to London to Berkeley CA in search of clues. The book is full of the author’s pictures also!! All the while regaling the reader with tidbits of information about painting, guitar collecting and food, especially the Croque Monsieur! I’m passing this one on to my daughter in Oakland.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the idea but felt the execution was too thin. The story never built, which I understand it’s NF, but I wonder if it was a book or more of an interesting story for cocktail parties. Perhaps if we delved deeper into some of the complex people or approach for authenticating a painting.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read.
Thanks to the author for my copy.

[Linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting insight into the process of researching the facts and provenance behind a found piece of art. Intriguing. I enjoyed the journey and the thoughts on making art and on looking at art.

[Elena B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start is intriguing. then story turns into thoughts and reflection on the power of art , its meaning . It is a detective search with photographs to illustrate it along with the discussions of art, culinary, and literature. Definitely the author is passionate and enthusiastic about his search. For me it was a mix bag, however, I believe that art lovers would be interested to read it. 3.5 stars.