This chronicle of the life and career of a unique modern artist is based on her correspondence and interviews with friends, relatives, and colleagues.

Elsey's role as painter, mother and wife have lead her to descend into desperate unhappiness. Her husband Lukas urges her to find herself in a weeklong mountain retreat. There she meets a group of men and women who will forever alter the way she understands herself.

"A sensual portrait of Manet's last years, and a vibrant testament to the endurance of the artistic spirit. Suffering from the complications of syphilis toward the end of his life, Édouard Manet begins to jot down his daily impressions, reflections, and memories in a notebook. Between healing respites in the French countryside and holding court in his Paris studio, he finds inspiration in nature-a cloud of dragonflies, peonies blanketed by the morning...

"Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important figures in Western art, is renowned for his Post-Impressionist paintings. Though he was extraordinarily prolific, producing 2,100 artworks in his lifetime, he was only posthumously recognized as an artistic genius. Many people saw him as a madman, and he is famous for having severed part of his own left ear. His tortured life is just as captivating as his artworks, which went on to achieve widespread success."--...

"Naomi Byler cooks meals for the guests at The Peony Inn, where Amish sisters and owners of the inn Esther and Lizzie love her like a granddaughter. She's as happy there as a young woman can be, considering that her fiancé, Thomas, has left her to court someone else. She knows she'll get over the love of her life in due time, but she assumes marriage will never be a part of her future. Amos Lantz and his mother are guests at the inn, visiting town...

"For Chloe Abbington, the transition from fine art painter in New York City to painting-event business owner in charming Whisper Cove is more than a little jarring. But when poison-pen journalist Fiona Gimble writes a viciously negative review of the newly opened Paint with a View, Chloe learns that critics are the same everywhere. And when she finds Fiona's body behind her shop with a painting knife in her neck, Chloe realizes that this picture-perfect...

The social and political climate in which Wood's art flourished bears certain striking similarities to America today, as national identity and the tension between urban and rural areas reemerge as polarizing issues in a country facing the consequences of globalization and the technological revolution. Wood portrayed the tension and alienation of contemporary experience. By fusing meticulously observed reality with fables of childhood, he crafted unsettling...

In Taylorsford, Virginia, during the height of October's leaf-peeping season, library director Amy Webber, and her assistant, Sunny, prepare for the library's yard sale fundraiser--until a dead body stops them in their tracks.

"Celebrate the life-changing power of art in this inspiring and stunningly illustrated picture book biography of American artist Alma Thomas. Meet an incredible woman who broke down barriers throughout her whole life and is now known as one of the most preeminent painters of the 20th century. Told from the point of view of young Alma Thomas, readers can follow along as she grows into her discovery of the life-changing power of art."-- provided by...