The Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan: The Story of the Yusupov Rembrandts - Softcover

Andresen, Frederick R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0996502009 ISBN 13: 9780996502009

Publisher: Aviara Press, 2015

Synopsis

In 1660, in the darkest depth of his personal problems and at the height of his artistic abilities, REMBRANDT paints the portraits of a Dutch couple about to be married. ANNEKE, an unwed mother, hopes her imminent wedding to HENRYK, the child's sea-captain father, will remove the condemnation of church and society and she will finally find security, respect, and home. But, before the paint is dry, Anneke suffers an accident and drowns in an icy Amsterdam canal, leaving her daughter to the care of the sea-captain father and her thoughts and secrets locked in a leather journal. Following is a journey through trials and victories as Anneke's lineage of committed mothers and daughters and their men dedicate their lives to save and hold the great paintings, symbols of their family dignity and pride. The characters protect the Rembrandts through the decline of Holland's Golden Age, the visit of Peter the Great, and the chaos of the French Revolution where they escape with a Russian prince to Saint Petersburg and into the palace and collection of the richest family in czarist Russia, the Yusupov family. Rescued from the ravage of Napoleon's assault of Russia, they return to the security of the famed Moika Palace. Saved by a successor countess from the turmoil of the Russian Revolution and in the wake of the palace murder of the decadent Rasputin, the paintings are taken to safety by the murderer, the disguised PRINCE FELIX YUSUPOV and later his wife, the PRINCESS IRINA, in a daring escape. The destitute Prince and Princess Yusupov arrive in London and sell the paintings to the American millionaire collector JOSEPH WIDENER under contestable conditions. Prince Yusupov sues to regain ownership of the Rembrandts. Their destiny falls to the mercy of the Supreme Court of New York in the most famous and contentious art lawsuit in American legal history. Finally, the portraits are gifted by the rich, but socially disillusioned, Widener to The National Gallery of Art in Washington

About this title

About the Author:

Frederick Andresen writes historical novels based on stories discovered in the works of classical artists. Readers personally discover an inside story of the art. Andresen draws on a lifetime of international adventure and travel. He built his business success on understanding the people, their history, their culture, and their stories. The last twenty years have focused on Russia, in residence there for six years. A guiding motto of Fred's adventures and storytelling is Robert Frost's: "Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Books: "The Lady with an Ostrich Feather Fan" (2015) An award-winning historical novel about the power of love wielded by a descendant line of courageous women to protect the famous Yusupov Rembrandts from the threats of European and Russian revolutions, obsessive men, and American law -- until the portraits find security in an American museum. (The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. "Dos Gringos" (2010) is a true and hilarious account of his Norwegian immigrant father's escapades in The Mexican Revolution. “A Norwegian and an Irishman meet in a Texas bar.” "Walking on Ice" (2007) A collection of 67 articles detailing his Russian business and cultural experience with an "openly Chekhovian description" according to Andrei Zolotov, Jr., Russia Profile. His essays and short stories have appeared in magazines in America, Russia, and England. "The Fabergé Clock" (2018) A romance set in present day Russia. A New Yorker, the last member of a prominent pre-Revolutionary Russian family, returns to present day Russia to reclaim her past and to solve an old family mystery. She finds that nothing is as she expected, her protector betrays her, her life love is found in a stranger, and burdens become lifesavers, especially when her 83-year-old father, who decides to come along, rescues her from a kidnapping.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aviara Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0996502009
• ISBN 13: 9780996502009
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308