Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York
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Reviews
“Mesmerizing. An engrossing adventure into American cultural history. Truly a wonderful achievement.”
— Francine du Plessix Gray
“[A] fine new study . . . unusually rewarding . . . Weber is to be congratulated for telling this story with admirable restraint . . . ”
— Michael Lewis, The New York Sun
“Weber’s exquisitely sensitive yet hugely entertaining group portrait of the Clarks is a potent tale of family and wealth, anguish and the solace of art.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Description
The idiosyncratic lives of Sterling and Stephen Clark—two of America’s greatest art collectors, heirs to the Singer sewing machine fortune, and for decades enemies of each other. Nicholas Fox Weber tells the story, as well, of the two generations that preceded theirs, giving us an intimate portrait of one of the least known of America’s richest families.
Weber examines the depths of the brothers’ passions, the vehemence of their lifelong feud, the great art they acquired, and the profound and lasting impact they had on artistic vision in America.