Burnt Umber

Burnt Umber

B urnt Umber is a novel on the grand scale about the passionate lives of two real artists. It unfolds through the intertwining stories of the German painter Franz Marc, the American sculptor Harry Baer, and the strong‑willed women they loved. Marc abandons his wife Antonia, on her wedding night, is obsessed with Marguerite, a lesbian and early feminist, and enlists in the German Army believing that the war will be good for humanity.Masterfully woven with Marc’s story is that of Harry Baer (based on the art and milestones in the life of Harold Paris). Baer finds Marc’s war time sketchbook in an abandoned farmhouse during World War Two and is haunted by it. Moving to Paris after the war, Harry marries Aurora, an intellectual assaulting the elite French academy. She launches his artistic career in the prestigious left bank galleries. Harry moves to Berkeley to teach and sculpt and encounters a new breed of women. Karine, the African‑American activist loves him but won’t live in his shadow. Darah, the daughter of a Congressman, embodies the confidence of the feminist generation. She and their young daughter challenge Harry to give as much of himself to those who love him as to the art he creates. Burnt Umber is a novel about two unforgettable artists who struggled to express their personal vision of the defining moments of the 20thCentury: the trenches of World War One, the liberation of the concentration camps, the turbulence of post‑World War Two Paris, the Civil Rights Movement and Viet Nam‑era Berkeley.