Picasso’s Lovers

The art and life of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) have long been a source of fascination, and Mackin’s (The Last Collection) novel is a fine addition to the historical fiction about him. The story opens with 1950s aspiring art journalist Alana Olson attempting to unearth aspects of Picasso’s life that haven’t been written about before. Her quest leads her to Sara Murphy, who spent time with Picasso in the 1920s in the French Riviera. Most of the novel is about the experiences of these two women, with the setting moving back and forth between France and the States. Mackin fleshes out the primary story with many memorable minor characters. Picasso himself makes a brief appearance when Alana interviews him, but most of the story is about the people in his orbit. The novel also makes clear how sexism constrained opportunities for women artists as well as women journalists.