The Grand Central School of Art, founded by the painters Edmund Greacen, Walter Leighton Clark, and John Singer Sargent, opened in 1924 and enrolled as many as nine hundred students a year before closing in 1944. While this is a work of fiction, I was inspired by two former faculty members at the Grand Central School of Art—Arshile Gorky and Helen Dryden—and by the real-life fight to save Grand Central Terminal in the 1970s. Penn Central did incorrectly allocate their expenses to try to show economic hardship, but the stolen balance sheet and scenes involving the Municipal Art Society are fiction. Several books were incredibly helpful during my research, including Arshile Gorky: His Life and Work by Hayden Herrera; Rethinking Arshile Gorky by Kim S. Theriault; Lee Krasner: A Biography by Gail Levin; Women of Abstract Expressionism, edited by Joan Marter; An Evening in the Classroom by Harvey Dunn; Grand Central Terminaclass="underline" 100 Years of a New York Landmark by the New York Transit Museum and Anthony W. Robins; Grand Centraclass="underline" How a Train Station Transformed America by Sam Roberts; Grand Central Terminaclass="underline" City within the City by the Municipal Art Society of New York, edited by Deborah Nevins; and Grand Central by David Marshall. I’d especially like to thank Sarah Marie Horne, who provided me with research from her groundbreaking dissertation on Helen Dryden.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped bring this story to life, especially Stephanie Kelly and Stefanie Lieberman, who were by my side every step of the way.
Thank you to everyone at Dutton, including Ivan Held, Christine Ball, John Parsley, Amanda Walker, Carrie Swetonic, Alice Dalrymple, Liza Cassity, Becky Odell, Elina Vaysbeyn, and Christopher Lin. The team of all-stars also includes Kathleen Carter, Molly Steinblatt, Nikki Terry, and Julie Miesionczek. In terms of research, I am indebted to Francis Morrone, Wendy Felton, Karen Spencer, Erin Butler, Don Morris, Sarah Marie Horne, Jillian Russo, Stephanie Cassidy, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Frank J. Prial Jr., the Art Students League of New York, the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, and the Municipal Art Society of New York. Finally, I’d like to thank Brian and Dilys Davis, Tom O’Brien, Cynthia Besteman, and Linda Powell for your support and love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fiona Davis is the nationally bestselling author of The Dollhouse and The Address. She lives in New York City and is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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