The Lost Mother
A Story Of Art And Love
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The Lost Mother
A Story Of Art And Love
My mother had just turned ten in mid-1933 when a young woman approached her as they were both leaving Mass at St Joan of Arc's in Brighton ... The woman was an artist and she would like to paint her portrait ...
After her mother's death in 2005, Anne Summers inherits a portrait of her mother as a child. Mesmerised by this image, she finds herself drawn into the story of how the portrait was painted and eventually found its way into her family. She soon learns the artist painted another portrait of her mother; this time as the Madonna.
In a gripping narrative that is part art history, part detective story and part meditation on the relations between mothers and daughters, Anne's search for the Madonna painting and the mysterious Russian émigré collector who bought both paintings takes her down unexpected paths. Her search soon turns into a parallel…
My mother had just turned ten in mid-1933 when a young woman approached her as they were both leaving Mass at St Joan of Arc's in Brighton ... The woman was an artist and she would like to paint her portrait ...
After her mother's death in 2005, Anne Summers inherits a portrait of her mother as a child. Mesmerised by this image, she finds herself drawn into the story of how the portrait was painted and eventually found its way into her family. She soon learns the artist painted another portrait of her mother; this time as the Madonna.
In a gripping narrative that is part art history, part detective story and part meditation on the relations between mothers and daughters, Anne's search for the Madonna painting and the mysterious Russian émigré collector who bought both paintings takes her down unexpected paths. Her search soon turns into a parallel quest to rescue Constance Stokes, the artist, from obscurity, and to learn why the collector suddenly abandoned the paintings. Along the way Anne finds she must face the truth of the relationship she had with her mother.
In turn hypnotic and moving, The Lost Mother is a powerful exploration of art, loss and love.
Anne Summers
Anne Summers is the author of The Lost Mother, Damned Whores and God's Police, Gamble for Power, Ducks on the Pond and The End of Equality, among other books. She has edited the landmark American feminist magazine Ms. and Good Weekend as well as writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review and numerous other publications. She has been an advisor to prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul…
