Everyone who looks at "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit", the grand-scale painting by John Singer Sargent that hangs in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, is drawn into its mysteries. Who are these four girls, dressed in prim pinafores? Why is the composition so far off balance? Why are two of the girls cloaked so completely in shadows that their "portraits" are little more than ghostly ciphers? Author Douglas Rees explores the complexities of this masterpiece with a psychological thriller that lets Sargent himself tell the story behind the canvas. When one of the girls scratches the words "Help us" on a scrap of drawing paper, Sargent realizes that he alone has the power to save them. Will the great portraitist paint the girls as they appear - or will he show the reality of their dark, mysterious lives? It is a part of the "Art Explorers" series.

 

This book is part of a book series called Art Encounters .

There are 176 pages in this book. This book was published 2006 by Watson-Guptill Publications .

Douglas Rees is a librarian who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the author of Grandy Thaxter's Helper , Uncle Pirate and Uncle Pirate to the Rescue , as well as two novels for older readers, Lightning Time and Vampire High . Visit him online at DouglasRees. com.