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The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence
A surprisingly scandalous and vibrantly illustrated chain of entanglements (romantic and otherwise) between some of our best-loved writers and artists of the twentieth century. Poet Robert Lowell died of a heart attack, clutching a portrait of his lover, Caroline Blackwood, painted by her ex-husband, Lucian Freud. Lowell was on his way to see his own ex-wife, Elizabeth Hardwick, who was a longtime friend of Mary McCarthy. McCarthy left the father of her child to marry Edmund Wilson, who had encouraged her writing, and had also brought critical attention to the fiction of Anaïs Nin . . . whom he later bedded. And so it goes, the long chain of love, affections, and artistic influences among writers, musicians, and artists that weaves its way through the The Art of the Affair--from Frida Kahlo to Colette to Hemingway to Dali; from Coco Chanel to Stravinsky to Miles Davis to Orson Welles.Scrupulously researched but playfully prurient, cleverly designed and colorfully illustrated, it's the perfect gift for your literary lover--and the perfect read for any good-natured gossip-monger.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2017
13 people are currently reading
1060 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Lacey
27 books1,463 followersCatherine Lacey is the author of six books. Her honors include a Guggenheim fellowship, a Whiting Award, a Lambda Award for Lesbian Fiction and the 2021 NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award. She has been twice a finalist for both the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Jean Stein Book Award. She lives in México.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 18, 2025
4,5*
Martha Gellhorn on Ernest Hemingway: “No woman should ever marry a man who hated his mother . . . [He had a] mistrust and fear of women. Which he suffered from always, and made women suffer; and which shows in his writing.”
Piscando o olho ao famoso título de Graham Greene, “The End of the Affair”, Catherine Lacey compôs um livro ilustrado sobre as relações pessoais entre artistas de várias áreas ao longo do século XX.
The eccentric painter Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita took dance lessons with Isadora [Duncan] in exchange for champagne. He was said to have fallen in love with both her and her brother Raymond, but Isadora was in a somber period of her life, having just lost both her children in a car accident. Isadora, too, would die in a horrible accident. At a summer party in 1925, Isadora and F. Scott Fitzgerald flirted overtly, Isadora going so far as to tell him he could come visit her later that night. Zelda watched silently from across the room before flinging herself down a stone stairway, stunning the crowd into silence and bloodying her knees.
Seja por motivos passionais, profissionais ou de amizade, “The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence” comprova a teoria dos seis graus de separação, ou, colocando-o de forma mais simples, está tudo ligado.
Colette’s novel ‘The Pure and the Impure’ included a mistress-and-slave relationship based on that of Renée [Vivien] and Natalie [Barney]. Natalie was a prolific writer, producing five books of poetry, three books of epigrams, three memoirs, a novel, and two collections of essays. She also had so many lovers that Alice B. Toklas once quipped she must have been picking them up in department store lavatories. Rebellious from a young age, Natalie settled in Paris in her mid-twenties and began hosting weekly salons, bringing together everyone from Isadora Duncan to Jean Cocteau. She is credited with repopularizing Sappho among this creative elite. She was briefly engaged to writer Lord Alfred Douglas and had an ongoing affair with Dolly, notorious niece of Oscar Wilde—who himself had an affair with Lord Alfred. In 1916, Natalie met painter Romaine Brooks.
Nesta coluna de mexericos erudita, é evidente o eixo EUA-França na primeira metade do século XX, altura em quase todas as celebridades deste livro se cruzaram no apartamento de Gertrud Stein e Alice B Toklas em Paris.
Outra figura agregadora é também a da mecenas Peggy Guggenheim, cujo marido Max Ernest é um dos grandes elos nesta corrente de associações. Estranhamente, não se fala aqui da pintora e escritora Leonora Carrington, que fugiu para Paris aos 20 anos com Ernest, na altura casado e com 46 anos, a qual viria depois a viver no México, onde conheceu Frida Kahlo, que é outra das arestas destes polígonos amorosos.
While Peggy Guggenheim and Max Ernst were married and living in Paris, she organized an art show of thirty-one female artists, including Dorothea Tanning. She later joked that she should have capped it at thirty: Dorothea and Max began an affair that eventually ended the marriage. Though Dorothea’s work was shown at many of the world’s major museums in the world during her lifetime, she was never exhibited at the Guggenheim.
Muitas destas ligações entre pintores, escritores e gente do cinema e da música são sobejamente conhecidas, mas talvez não em toda a sua extensão, atestando uma ideia que ainda perdura nos dias de hoje, a de que os famosos andam todos uns com os outros.
Duas histórias reais de amor/ódio com alguns dos meus autores preferidos:
Tennessee Williams first met Tallulah [Bankhead] backstage before a play, where she was putting on makeup while completely naked. He’d written a part for her, but she dismissed his new play as “degenerate filth.” She later performed in a production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, but Tennessee criticized her work in an open letter to the New York Times, calling it “the worst performance ever of Blanche DuBois.” (...)Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal all met as young literary competitors in New York. The group, which Tennessee called “the spiteful sisterhood,” traveled to Europe together just after World War II. Truman claimed his French editor, Albert Camus, was in his hotel room every night. Truman met Gore Vidal at a party in Anaïs Nin’s New York apartment.
******************
Jean-Paul Sartre asked Simone de Beauvoir to marry him when they were in their early twenties, but she preferred their open relationship. It lasted half a century. Simone’s novel ‘She Came to Stay’ was dedicated to Olga Kosakiewicz, her student who also formed a triad relationship with her and Jean-Paul. Olga’s sister Wanda also had a separate relationship with Jean-Paul, and once pulled a gun on Simone. Several of Jean-Paul’s exes suffered psychotic episodes and suicide attempts. Michelle Vian, who ended up divorcing Boris [Vian] to be with Jean-Paul, stayed with him for the rest of his life, but also tried to kill herself.
Martha Gellhorn on Ernest Hemingway: “No woman should ever marry a man who hated his mother . . . [He had a] mistrust and fear of women. Which he suffered from always, and made women suffer; and which shows in his writing.”
Piscando o olho ao famoso título de Graham Greene, “The End of the Affair”, Catherine Lacey compôs um livro ilustrado sobre as relações pessoais entre artistas de várias áreas ao longo do século XX.
The eccentric painter Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita took dance lessons with Isadora [Duncan] in exchange for champagne. He was said to have fallen in love with both her and her brother Raymond, but Isadora was in a somber period of her life, having just lost both her children in a car accident. Isadora, too, would die in a horrible accident. At a summer party in 1925, Isadora and F. Scott Fitzgerald flirted overtly, Isadora going so far as to tell him he could come visit her later that night. Zelda watched silently from across the room before flinging herself down a stone stairway, stunning the crowd into silence and bloodying her knees.
Seja por motivos passionais, profissionais ou de amizade, “The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence” comprova a teoria dos seis graus de separação, ou, colocando-o de forma mais simples, está tudo ligado.
Colette’s novel ‘The Pure and the Impure’ included a mistress-and-slave relationship based on that of Renée [Vivien] and Natalie [Barney]. Natalie was a prolific writer, producing five books of poetry, three books of epigrams, three memoirs, a novel, and two collections of essays. She also had so many lovers that Alice B. Toklas once quipped she must have been picking them up in department store lavatories. Rebellious from a young age, Natalie settled in Paris in her mid-twenties and began hosting weekly salons, bringing together everyone from Isadora Duncan to Jean Cocteau. She is credited with repopularizing Sappho among this creative elite. She was briefly engaged to writer Lord Alfred Douglas and had an ongoing affair with Dolly, notorious niece of Oscar Wilde—who himself had an affair with Lord Alfred. In 1916, Natalie met painter Romaine Brooks.
Nesta coluna de mexericos erudita, é evidente o eixo EUA-França na primeira metade do século XX, altura em quase todas as celebridades deste livro se cruzaram no apartamento de Gertrud Stein e Alice B Toklas em Paris.
Outra figura agregadora é também a da mecenas Peggy Guggenheim, cujo marido Max Ernest é um dos grandes elos nesta corrente de associações. Estranhamente, não se fala aqui da pintora e escritora Leonora Carrington, que fugiu para Paris aos 20 anos com Ernest, na altura casado e com 46 anos, a qual viria depois a viver no México, onde conheceu Frida Kahlo, que é outra das arestas destes polígonos amorosos.
While Peggy Guggenheim and Max Ernst were married and living in Paris, she organized an art show of thirty-one female artists, including Dorothea Tanning. She later joked that she should have capped it at thirty: Dorothea and Max began an affair that eventually ended the marriage. Though Dorothea’s work was shown at many of the world’s major museums in the world during her lifetime, she was never exhibited at the Guggenheim.
Muitas destas ligações entre pintores, escritores e gente do cinema e da música são sobejamente conhecidas, mas talvez não em toda a sua extensão, atestando uma ideia que ainda perdura nos dias de hoje, a de que os famosos andam todos uns com os outros.
Duas histórias reais de amor/ódio com alguns dos meus autores preferidos:
Tennessee Williams first met Tallulah [Bankhead] backstage before a play, where she was putting on makeup while completely naked. He’d written a part for her, but she dismissed his new play as “degenerate filth.” She later performed in a production of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, but Tennessee criticized her work in an open letter to the New York Times, calling it “the worst performance ever of Blanche DuBois.” (...)Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal all met as young literary competitors in New York. The group, which Tennessee called “the spiteful sisterhood,” traveled to Europe together just after World War II. Truman claimed his French editor, Albert Camus, was in his hotel room every night. Truman met Gore Vidal at a party in Anaïs Nin’s New York apartment.
******************
Jean-Paul Sartre asked Simone de Beauvoir to marry him when they were in their early twenties, but she preferred their open relationship. It lasted half a century. Simone’s novel ‘She Came to Stay’ was dedicated to Olga Kosakiewicz, her student who also formed a triad relationship with her and Jean-Paul. Olga’s sister Wanda also had a separate relationship with Jean-Paul, and once pulled a gun on Simone. Several of Jean-Paul’s exes suffered psychotic episodes and suicide attempts. Michelle Vian, who ended up divorcing Boris [Vian] to be with Jean-Paul, stayed with him for the rest of his life, but also tried to kill herself.
January 30, 2020
I usually love little illustrated books like this, like Samantha Hahn's Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction's Most Beloved Heroines. And I like getting bite-sized accounts of notable people with pictures, like in Design Museum: Fifty Fashion Designers That Changed the World. But The Art of the Affair really missed the mark for me. It's hard to follow, inconsistent, and leaves you wanting more. And I didn't care for the illustrations.
Since "affair" is right in the title, I was expecting juicy accounts of famous and creative types' love lives. Well, as Catherine Lacey admits in the introduction, this book plays fast and loose with the term "affair." Being friends or recording albums together doesn't count as an affair—this book reads more like six degrees of separation. Some of the connections are tenuous at best: for example, Tallulah Bankhead being a fan of Louis Armstrong. Why is this even mentioned? It's not important. The title is misleading
This book is very confusing. There are dotted lines with arrows throughout the book, zigzagging among illustrations of historical figures with no rhyme or reason. Eventually, I began to follow things better, but I had to adjust to the confusing writing style. This book was in desperate need of clear cut organization, a better editor, and an index at the back of the book. Many times I would come across a famous person mentioned in one person's section who I had come across before. The names of important players are in bold, but since there's no index, there's no easy way to go back and look at their pages.
I also didn't like how some people and their affairs are given lengthy descriptions, while other sections lack that detail. It needed a more consistent format. For many, there is no explanation of why they are of note or famous. Are they just famous for loving famous people or did they have a noteworthy career in their own right? This particularly bothered me on the pages devoted to lesbians, who are given especially short shrift. What are Élisabeth de Gramont or Renée Vivien's claims to fame? I don't know, because I'd never heard of them before and Catherine Lacey doesn't see fit to tell us. And it's not like these are household names like Marilyn Monroe or Andy Warhol. The book also proves itself very inconsistent because some people do get really well-written write-ups, like Lee Miller. I wish every section was as highly detailed as this one. It would have improved the quality and the tone of the book. As it is, this book just makes me want to research these individuals and their affairs myself.
I didn't care for the illustration style of Forsyth Harmon. Extremely famous people like Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald aren't given very good likenesses, and I would think it would be easiest to capture the iconic faces. I was also troubled by the apparent whitewashing of the artwork. Louis Armstrong is painted as much more light-skinned than he actually was. And on a page about Jean Toomer, which revolves around his marriage to Margery Latimer being illegal due to anti-miscegenation laws, you can't even tell Toomer is supposed to be black.
The way the subjects of The Art of the Affair are presented makes them all seem insufferable, like people you wouldn't want to meet. And these are compelling people! Complex and flawed, but fascinating people. And here, Lacey makes them seem unappealing. The people she recounts are extra, and not in a good way.
If you've come for a good time roundup of affairs, you're in for a disappointment. Half the "relationships" recounted here come nowhere near an affair. You'd be better off visiting the blog Old Loves for relationship dirt.
Since "affair" is right in the title, I was expecting juicy accounts of famous and creative types' love lives. Well, as Catherine Lacey admits in the introduction, this book plays fast and loose with the term "affair." Being friends or recording albums together doesn't count as an affair—this book reads more like six degrees of separation. Some of the connections are tenuous at best: for example, Tallulah Bankhead being a fan of Louis Armstrong. Why is this even mentioned? It's not important. The title is misleading
This book is very confusing. There are dotted lines with arrows throughout the book, zigzagging among illustrations of historical figures with no rhyme or reason. Eventually, I began to follow things better, but I had to adjust to the confusing writing style. This book was in desperate need of clear cut organization, a better editor, and an index at the back of the book. Many times I would come across a famous person mentioned in one person's section who I had come across before. The names of important players are in bold, but since there's no index, there's no easy way to go back and look at their pages.
I also didn't like how some people and their affairs are given lengthy descriptions, while other sections lack that detail. It needed a more consistent format. For many, there is no explanation of why they are of note or famous. Are they just famous for loving famous people or did they have a noteworthy career in their own right? This particularly bothered me on the pages devoted to lesbians, who are given especially short shrift. What are Élisabeth de Gramont or Renée Vivien's claims to fame? I don't know, because I'd never heard of them before and Catherine Lacey doesn't see fit to tell us. And it's not like these are household names like Marilyn Monroe or Andy Warhol. The book also proves itself very inconsistent because some people do get really well-written write-ups, like Lee Miller. I wish every section was as highly detailed as this one. It would have improved the quality and the tone of the book. As it is, this book just makes me want to research these individuals and their affairs myself.
I didn't care for the illustration style of Forsyth Harmon. Extremely famous people like Marilyn Monroe and Ella Fitzgerald aren't given very good likenesses, and I would think it would be easiest to capture the iconic faces. I was also troubled by the apparent whitewashing of the artwork. Louis Armstrong is painted as much more light-skinned than he actually was. And on a page about Jean Toomer, which revolves around his marriage to Margery Latimer being illegal due to anti-miscegenation laws, you can't even tell Toomer is supposed to be black.
The way the subjects of The Art of the Affair are presented makes them all seem insufferable, like people you wouldn't want to meet. And these are compelling people! Complex and flawed, but fascinating people. And here, Lacey makes them seem unappealing. The people she recounts are extra, and not in a good way.
If you've come for a good time roundup of affairs, you're in for a disappointment. Half the "relationships" recounted here come nowhere near an affair. You'd be better off visiting the blog Old Loves for relationship dirt.
March 13, 2017
"The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence" is a delightful entertaining brief read by multi-award winning author Catherine Lacey, recognized for her novels featuring YA themes and Women's Fiction, she is writing a book of short stories to be released in 2017, Lacey is based out of Chicago.
There are about a hundred famous celebrity actors, musicians, authors, artists briefly written about, also lesser known individuals associated with the celebrity, that talk revealing personal details that may have invited scandal at the time. Celebrities dish on other celebrities, readers will appreciate the numerous excellent color drawings of those featured, the dates and circumstances of death are often noted where acceptable.
Some of the celebrities briefly written about: Chelsea Girls--Andy Warhol (and associates), Madonna, Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg.
The Way Your Blood Beats: Georgia O'Keefe, Frida Kahlo, James Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, Langston Hughes. Famous books and the authors who wrote them: Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald/Zelda.
The Stud File: Stein/Toklas. Isadora Duncan, Pablo Picasso, Greta Garbo/Mercedes de Acosta. Music Is My Mistress: Louis Armstrong/Lil Hardin, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Marilyn Monroe.
The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: The most famous scandal of all time that involved Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas. Natalie Barney's father was so repulsed by her brief engagement to Douglas he stopped pressuring her to marry. Numerous others are included: Truman Capote, Walt Whitman.
When The Wicked Man: Features story brief's about Colette, CoCo Chanel, Ford Madox Ford, Hemingway Martha Gellhorn, Jean Rhys, Robert Lowell's love for his beautiful young mistress that became his third wife.
Some of the stories are very well known, others not as much. The book can be read in one sitting. With thanks to the Seattle Public Library, I hope to purchase a copy for reference.
There are about a hundred famous celebrity actors, musicians, authors, artists briefly written about, also lesser known individuals associated with the celebrity, that talk revealing personal details that may have invited scandal at the time. Celebrities dish on other celebrities, readers will appreciate the numerous excellent color drawings of those featured, the dates and circumstances of death are often noted where acceptable.
Some of the celebrities briefly written about: Chelsea Girls--Andy Warhol (and associates), Madonna, Lou Reed, Allen Ginsberg.
The Way Your Blood Beats: Georgia O'Keefe, Frida Kahlo, James Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, Langston Hughes. Famous books and the authors who wrote them: Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald/Zelda.
The Stud File: Stein/Toklas. Isadora Duncan, Pablo Picasso, Greta Garbo/Mercedes de Acosta. Music Is My Mistress: Louis Armstrong/Lil Hardin, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Marilyn Monroe.
The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: The most famous scandal of all time that involved Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas. Natalie Barney's father was so repulsed by her brief engagement to Douglas he stopped pressuring her to marry. Numerous others are included: Truman Capote, Walt Whitman.
When The Wicked Man: Features story brief's about Colette, CoCo Chanel, Ford Madox Ford, Hemingway Martha Gellhorn, Jean Rhys, Robert Lowell's love for his beautiful young mistress that became his third wife.
Some of the stories are very well known, others not as much. The book can be read in one sitting. With thanks to the Seattle Public Library, I hope to purchase a copy for reference.
June 7, 2017
The Art of the Affair: An Illustrated History of Love, Sex, and Artistic Influence by Catherine Lacey and Forsyth Harmon
Star rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars
Format: hardback
Summary: This is a short look at connections between artists, most romantic but quite a few platonic as well.
Review: I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting of this book but it was a bit strange. The way it is written is a lot of short blurbs and dotted lines connecting artists. It's a bit rambling and non-linear, sometimes making it hard to follow. Some of the people I didn't know but there was usually enough in the text to figure out what they did.
I was glad to see how the authors didn't shy away from including LGBT+ people and relationships. There were a lot of bisexual people I hadn't been aware of before, which was pretty cool. I wish that the authors would have gone more into the sources where they found evidence of some of them really would have been nice.
It felt more like a pamphlet than anything else. The information is thrown at you in small chunks like you would find in an informational pamphlet. I was really hoping for more. I didn't want these people's life stories but more than a couple sentences would have really boosted this book for me.
I liked the book, it was interesting but it really left me wanting much more. I didn't really feel satisfied by this book.
Recommendation: This is a good bathroom book, it's interesting but not long. Very reader's digest feel.
Star rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars
Format: hardback
Summary: This is a short look at connections between artists, most romantic but quite a few platonic as well.
Review: I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads.
I wasn't sure what I was expecting of this book but it was a bit strange. The way it is written is a lot of short blurbs and dotted lines connecting artists. It's a bit rambling and non-linear, sometimes making it hard to follow. Some of the people I didn't know but there was usually enough in the text to figure out what they did.
I was glad to see how the authors didn't shy away from including LGBT+ people and relationships. There were a lot of bisexual people I hadn't been aware of before, which was pretty cool. I wish that the authors would have gone more into the sources where they found evidence of some of them really would have been nice.
It felt more like a pamphlet than anything else. The information is thrown at you in small chunks like you would find in an informational pamphlet. I was really hoping for more. I didn't want these people's life stories but more than a couple sentences would have really boosted this book for me.
I liked the book, it was interesting but it really left me wanting much more. I didn't really feel satisfied by this book.
Recommendation: This is a good bathroom book, it's interesting but not long. Very reader's digest feel.
March 29, 2018
The copy I have of this book is an advanced reading copy, a softcover one, so the material I read might be slightly different from the final version. I was given it as a Christmas present from an old friend of mine. She isn’t connected to the literary world, so I have no idea how she got her hands on it. She claims it was bought at a gift store (a cheap one), but I have my doubts.
Wherever the copy I have in my hands came from, this is a fun and expertly researched volume. It’s amazing how the sexual lives of various artists (of all stripes) collide together to create this web of debauchery. From the secret homosexual love of James Baldwin, to the constant adulteries of Ernest Hemingway, to the tempestuous drug fueled love life of Billy Holiday, to the long lasting (but forbidden love) between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The six degrees of separation law never seemed to small after reading this book.
A fun easy read. It also gave me several suggestions for further readings in the autobiographies of the various artists mentioned.
January 11, 2018
A unique book that allows us to voyeur into the past of the interconnected and sometimes tangled love lives of various artists. Some of these folks are pretty familiar others not so, well to me anyway. The author looks at individuals from various creative fields, music, art, literature.
The layout is stylish and flows in an interesting way that skips the typical book format and becomes and art form in its own. The illustrator is quite talented and draws fairly striking likenesses to the many characters we see here. Altogether well done and entertaining.
The layout is stylish and flows in an interesting way that skips the typical book format and becomes and art form in its own. The illustrator is quite talented and draws fairly striking likenesses to the many characters we see here. Altogether well done and entertaining.
August 30, 2020
No it's not what you think. This book draws (literally) connections among the various artists, poets, songsters, assorted designers and journalists from the 1800s through the late 1900s. Do not read this if you do not have some way to look up all the connections, backstories, albums and books mentioned. I found it fascinating. For a little book, it took up a lot of my time.
June 28, 2021
A fun, light book that can be read in an afternoon. Many of the names I knew but I learned of a few people who were celebrated in their time but unrecognized now. The book claims Frida Kahlo fell in love with Leon Trotsky. They had an affair but I don't think it was love. Trotsky was her revenge.
If you love salacious gossip from the 20th century, read this book!!!
If you love salacious gossip from the 20th century, read this book!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2017
An enjoyable read that plants the seeds for those perhaps not familiar with the subjects to delve further into their works and lives; for those familiar with them it provides multiple jumping off points that inspire you to go back and reread, listen, or see again.
April 1, 2021
LOVE LOVE LOVE
So fun to read about how the lives of infamous artists and creatives overlap in these crazy different ways.
The setup was a little hard to follow at times, but I’m overlooking that because the pictures were adorable, the writing was decent, and I loved the information!
So fun to read about how the lives of infamous artists and creatives overlap in these crazy different ways.
The setup was a little hard to follow at times, but I’m overlooking that because the pictures were adorable, the writing was decent, and I loved the information!
March 20, 2022
Reads like a Jazz Age-era gossip column, so it's a swift read but entertaining and enlightening. I was impressed with how many of these "affairs" were often people -- especially women -- bucking norms and expectations.
October 25, 2017
A brilliant and fascinating look at the connections between people and the way those are the things that shape their lives and art.
December 21, 2017
A delightful, gossamer, surreal at times look into the private lives of artists and literary figures.
Highly recommended as a quick fun read. Most suitable as a coffee table book.
Highly recommended as a quick fun read. Most suitable as a coffee table book.
August 22, 2018
A summary from the back cover:
“THE ART OF THE AFFAIR is... the perfect read for any good-natured gossipmonger.”
So it is.
“THE ART OF THE AFFAIR is... the perfect read for any good-natured gossipmonger.”
So it is.
May 14, 2019
Very brief, yet interesting. Just don't pay too much for the book.
August 21, 2022
Everything my art history nerd heart has ever needed
June 1, 2024
the best art comes from heart break and drug abuse. does the art suffer if the artist sobers up and straightens their life out?
March 23, 2017
Interesting concept offering bizarre and sometimes poignant glimpses into the lives of the numerous figures referenced. Being without a deep knowledge of art and literary history I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as others might.
February 7, 2017
From the publisher: Poet Robert Lowell died of a heart attack, clutching a portrait of his lover, Caroline Blackwood, painted by her ex-husband, Lucian Freud. Lowell was on his way to see his own ex-wife, Elizabeth Hardwick, who was a longtime friend of Mary McCarthy. McCarthy left the father of her child to marry Edmund Wilson, who had encouraged her writing, and had also brought critical attention to the fiction of Anaïs Nin . . . whom he later bedded. And so it goes, the long chain of love, affections, and artistic influences among writers, musicians, and artists that weaves its way through the The Art of the Affair--from Frida Kahlo to Colette to Hemingway to Dali; from Coco Chanel to Stravinsky to Miles Davis to Orson Welles.
Scrupulously researched but playfully prurient, cleverly designed and colorfully illustrated, it's the perfect gift for your literary lover--and the perfect read for any good-natured gossip-monger.
My review: This year, with this presidency, it has become an imperative to allow myself to escape...to learn...to just enjoy books.
And this was my first book of 2017.
I saw the picture of the book on Instagram and for some reason this book caught my eye.
It makes sense, I love anything historical...so I decided why not give this little tome about the romantic entanglements of the surprisingly small world of the arts and literature a go.
And it was great.
You can read this book in two ways.
1. Page by page
2. Follow the lines that connect people.
I did it both ways.
And you know what it reminded me of? You know those days where you meet up with your best friend and have a meal and have a good session of bochinche?
Something like…
Pero tu sabe que este hombre Oscar Wilde tenia ojos para Walt Whitman.
Que?!?!?!
Like that.
The jaw dropping moment was Anais Nin. Fold out pages of all the men and husbands she had. She kind of topped Elizabeth Taylor in the scandalous department.
I have to admit, that what I loved most was how the majority of the women that were highlighted in this little coffee table book did not allow their sexuality define them. Like the men in this book, they loved who they loved for whatever reason and for amount of time they gave them and just moved on to the next person. And these relationships that intermingled did not really break anyone, it fed creativity.
It is a quick read, but it is a fascinating read.
If you do not want to buy it, see if a library or a friend has it and give it a go.
Scrupulously researched but playfully prurient, cleverly designed and colorfully illustrated, it's the perfect gift for your literary lover--and the perfect read for any good-natured gossip-monger.
My review: This year, with this presidency, it has become an imperative to allow myself to escape...to learn...to just enjoy books.
And this was my first book of 2017.
I saw the picture of the book on Instagram and for some reason this book caught my eye.
It makes sense, I love anything historical...so I decided why not give this little tome about the romantic entanglements of the surprisingly small world of the arts and literature a go.
And it was great.
You can read this book in two ways.
1. Page by page
2. Follow the lines that connect people.
I did it both ways.
And you know what it reminded me of? You know those days where you meet up with your best friend and have a meal and have a good session of bochinche?
Something like…
Pero tu sabe que este hombre Oscar Wilde tenia ojos para Walt Whitman.
Que?!?!?!
Like that.
The jaw dropping moment was Anais Nin. Fold out pages of all the men and husbands she had. She kind of topped Elizabeth Taylor in the scandalous department.
I have to admit, that what I loved most was how the majority of the women that were highlighted in this little coffee table book did not allow their sexuality define them. Like the men in this book, they loved who they loved for whatever reason and for amount of time they gave them and just moved on to the next person. And these relationships that intermingled did not really break anyone, it fed creativity.
It is a quick read, but it is a fascinating read.
If you do not want to buy it, see if a library or a friend has it and give it a go.
February 18, 2017
A quick, fluffy read, gossipy, yet inspiring somehow.
Read
February 14, 2017I enjoyed this look at the tangled webs artists weave... it's all so melodramatic in their lives. Although I don't know if i need my partner to eat a handful of my ashes after i die...
April 22, 2022
This book will appeal most to those who know all the players. It's a book of great gossip, while also trying to chart influence, connection, and creative thought over generations. The arrows can be a little confusing and sometimes its a stretch in trying to keep a continuous connection, and flimsy at best sometimes, but it is an interesting idea. There were a few people I didn't know about and because of the other notables featured in the book I was curious enough in them to research their work further.
May 27, 2022
An interesting little book that connects the dots if you follow the arrows to and from several individuals known famously for their work in the arts: film, writing, singers, musicians, authors, poets and the original influencers. Much of the connecting is made between NYC and Paris. And this book spans the last century concentrating on the early teens through the 80's. It gives a practical understanding of the influences on their respective art from politics, culture and art. I feel compelled to read a few biographies and possibly some selections of literary work.
April 27, 2017
Fun book that will inevitably lead you to other books, which is my favorite kind of book. Will hold a permanent place on my coffee table.
January 31, 2017
This was a fun--and incredibly quick--read. Creative people are naturally drawn to other creative people. And historically when you get artists together, the world becomes one large key party. Lots and lots of dalliances have gone down over the years between famous writers, artists, and musicians, and this short illustrated guide broad brushes some of the major ones. So scandalous! It made me want to read up on more of them.
March 22, 2017
Hands down fabulous fun! There's no dirty laundry better than literary dirty laundry!
April 27, 2017
As a trivia/history buff, this book was SO much fun to read. My favorite thing about history is that it's so much non-linear, yet connected storytelling. This book is a perfect example of that, and is full of fascinating tidbits to boot.
May 2, 2017
Have you ever played the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? If not, here's a quick summary: "Movie buffs challenge each other to find the shortest path between an arbitrary actor and prolific character actor Kevin Bacon. It rests on the assumption that anyone involved in the Hollywood film industry can be linked through their film roles to Bacon within six steps." This is kinda what The Art of the Affair is, except without Kevin Bacon. Cathrine Lacey found inspiration for this book by going through articles and noticing connections between artists. Not just friendships, but affairs, scandals, and more.
It was interesting flipping through the pages of this short book and seeing all the dots connected. This book is also illustrated by New York artist, Forsyth Harmon. Her drawings of the artists in the book add to the atmosphere that Lacey created. The Art of the Affair is perfect for the bookish who also love a bit of gossip too.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2017...
It was interesting flipping through the pages of this short book and seeing all the dots connected. This book is also illustrated by New York artist, Forsyth Harmon. Her drawings of the artists in the book add to the atmosphere that Lacey created. The Art of the Affair is perfect for the bookish who also love a bit of gossip too.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2017...
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