{"product_id":"portrait-of-an-unknown-lady-9781646220328","title":"Portrait of an Unknown Lady","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable author María Gainza, who dazzled critics with \u003ci\u003eOptic Nerve\u003c\/i\u003e, returns with the captivating story of an auction house employee on the trail of an enigmatic master forger\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the Buenos Aires art world, a master forger has achieved legendary status. Rumored to be a woman, she specializes in canvases by the painter Mariette Lydis, a portraitist of Argentinean high society. But who is this absurdly gifted creator of counterfeits? What motivates her? And what is her link to the community of artists who congregate, night after night, in a strange establishment called the Hotel Melancólico? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn the trail of this mysterious forger is our narrator, an art critic and auction house employee through whose hands counterfeit works have passed. As she begins to take on the role of art-world detective, adopting her own methods of deception and manipulation, she warns us \"not to proceed in expectation of names, numbers or dates . . . My techniques are those of the impressionist.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Driven by obsession and full of subtle surprise, \u003ci\u003ePortrait of an Unknown Lady\u003c\/i\u003e is a highly seductive and enveloping meditation on what we mean by \"authenticity\" in art, and a captivating exploration of the gap between what is lived and what is told.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaría Gainza \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in Buenos Aires, where she still resides. She has worked as a correspondent for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e in Argentina, as well as for \u003ci\u003eARTnews\u003c\/i\u003e. She has also been a contributor to \u003ci\u003eArtforum, The Buenos Aires Review, \u003c\/i\u003eRadar, the cultural supplement from Argentine newspaper Página\/12. She is coeditor of the collection \u003ci\u003eLos Sentidos\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eThe Senses\u003c\/i\u003e) on Argentinean art, and in 2011 she published \u003ci\u003eTextos elegidos\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eSelected Texts).\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThomas Bunstead\u003c\/b\u003e has translated some of the leading Spanish-­language writers working today, including Bernardo Atxaga, Agustín Fernández Mallo, and Enrique Vila-­Matas, and his own writing has appeared in publications such as \u003ci\u003eBrixton Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe White Review\u003c\/i\u003e. He is currently a Royal Literary Fellow teaching at Aberystwyth University. He was born in London and now lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Catapult","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50485302395154,"sku":"9781646220328","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2f52d432-4801-436a-bf6c-5dd4181875a1.jpg?v=1730402181","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/portrait-of-an-unknown-lady-9781646220328","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}