Jonathan Santlofer, author of the immensely popular cliffhanger, The Last Mont Lisa, once again unwraps and intricately plots a, “deep- state” saga. The Lost Van Gogh in a thrilling new work about the troubled artist’s only recorded, missing portrait among his many paintings which now command millions of dollars at auction houses and grace the walls in private collections and prestigious museums worldwide.
It all starts very innocently. Art historian, Alexis ( Alex) Verde is forever scouring antique shops looking for bargains. And today she picked up a black and white portrait of a woman for only 25 dollars! Alex nonchalantly tucked the small painting into her tote bag.Thrilled by her new purchase she shared the great find with her live- in boyfriend Luke, an artist and a klutz. Luke accidently knocks the painting down damaging a corner of it. With some, meticulous stripping away the layer of paint, they gape with astonishment, “at a portrait of a red bearded man with a gaunt face and haunted yes”. Of course it’s a forgery! It could never be the last of Van Gogh’s final 70 paintings.
Carefully protecting the work in bubble wrap, Alex rushes to authenticate the painting. But on her way to the appointment with Ms. Anika Van Straten, an expert in impressionist art, Alex is mugged, her painting stolen. Interpol becomes involved not only to retrieve the work of art but to return it to its rightful owner. But who is that?
Author Jonathan Santlofer offers a labyrinth of detours to keep us guessing about the provenance of the painting. How does a painting, reputedly missing since the famous artist’s funeral, disguised as a black and white portrait, come to the possession of Hitler’s two henchmen, Propaganda Baron Joseph Goebbels and the infamous Hermann Goring ? And who launched the painting to arrive at art gallery in New York some eighty years after its creation?
Santlofer skillfully exposes a world of duplicitous art profiteers who deliberately designated astonishing works of art as “un-German” and labeled these “degenerate” only to stockpile them in castles or bunkers and sell them for untold amounts to unscrupulous art dealers. The Lost Van Gogh is a multi-faceted puzzle that speaks to the staggering value of art --- often traded for lives.