Jeanne Mackin

A lushly drawn imagining of the women who inspired Pablo Picasso, the secreted muses behind some of his greatest works, and the enduring influence of love and art. Alana Olson always felt connected to Pablo Picasso. As a recently graduated art historian and writer in 1950s New York, Alana was bound to encounter the most renowned artist of the era, but it was her late Italian Spanish mother’s particular fascination with the man that inspired Alana’s doctoral thesis on his work. An assignment for a profile on Picasso 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 her time along the French Riviera in 1923, revealing to Alana  an intimate glimpse into the life and work of Picasso and previously secret details that bring Alana closer to Picasso then she ever imagined.