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The Last Painting of Sara de Vos

by Dominic Smith (Goodreads Author)

3.8 · Rating Details · 12,293 Ratings · 1,230 Reviews

This is what we long for: the profound pleasure of being swept into vivid new worlds, worlds peopled by characters so intriguing and real that we can't shake them, even long after the reading's done. In his earlier, award-winning novels, Dominic Smith demonstrated a gift for coaxing the past to life. Now, in The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, he deftly bridges the historica ...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published April 5th 2016 by Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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Community Reviews

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May 23, 2016 Linda O'Donnell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, art-themes, 5-star-winners, fiction

Regrets come into our lives from our earliest moments until the very last. Sometimes they are as light as the wings of a butterfly causing but a brief pause. Other times they are heavy-ladden with pressure forcefully leaning on the heart. And the indescribable ache now takes up a permanent residence.

Dominic Smith presents his remarkable novel in time spans that drift from 1631 to 1957 to 2000. Each time period is layered expertly like parchment paper that settles oh so lightly allowing the reade Regrets come into our lives from our earliest moments until the very last. Sometimes they are as light as the wings of a butterfly causing but a brief pause. Other times they are heavy-ladden with pressure forcefully leaning on the heart. And the indescribable ache now takes up a permanent residence.

Dominic Smith presents his remarkable novel in time spans that drift from 1631 to 1957 to 2000. Each time period is layered expertly like parchment paper that settles oh so lightly allowing the reader to experience what came before and what is yet to come. The voice of this well-crafted story shifts from the experiential situations of each of his main characters. And those regrets are the framework upon which this canvas is spread.

Sara de Vos is a master painter living with her husband near Amsterdam in the 17th century. Although her husband is an artist as well, we come to realize what actually defines the term "master". Females were subjected to disregard in the field of art and were relegated to painting flowers. But then a tragedy strikes in Sara's life that transforms the feel of the brush as it touches canvas. "Sara brings her gaze back from the low fire beneath the cauldron. Will it ever go away? The anguish." What transpires here out is a masterpiece from the embers of her soul.

In New York City in 1957 Marty de Groot, a prominent lawyer, stands and admires the rich painting that has been in his family for hundreds of years. But it brings him no comfort and seems to drape a pallor over his marriage as well. He feels dissatisfaction with his life and with this landscape rendering entitled: At the Edge of a Wood. Ironically, Marty will no longer stand on the edge, but will venture into areas that he will long regret.

Unbeknownst to Marty, a young art historian grad student, Ellie Shipley, will no longer stand on the edge of her own existence and will leave footprints of regret as well. She finds herself involved in a one-time forgery scheme. And this single action on her part will cast a gripping shadow from this time forward. The seeds have been planted and the harvest is one tangled with the sins of deep transgressions.

By 2000 the paths of Marty and Ellie will cross. Ellie has become an expert in female painters of the Dutch Golden Age. "She often sees Sara in her dreams -- a woman in a bonnet, a sallow, slightly drawn expression, peering in through a window." All of their lives are no longer adrift, but on the same course. And you will view this collage of dark and light.

This was my first book by Dominic Smith. The writing is impressive and the storyline is multi-layered and read with deep satisfaction. Sometimes a book just speaks to you in its vivid language and in the artistry of the subject matter itself. This is one of them and a most memorable read. ...more

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Apr 12, 2016 Jennifer Masterson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, audio, favorites-2016

I know that it is only April but I might have found my favorite book of 2016! Holy cow was this brilliant! I've never heard of Dominic Smith before this book but he's a phenomenal writer and what a story this is! This novel has it all! Beautiful writing, well fleshed out characters, a wonderful story, and feels yes feels! I learned so much about the art world and about Dutch female painters in the 17th century. I listened to this book on audio. You know you are listening to a good audiobook when ...more

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Jan 07, 2017 Elyse rated it it was amazing

Update: This just went on sale for $2.99 today -- Kindle special. Great deal!

Gorgeous descriptions from the very beginning.....to the very end!!!
At times I felt I was in the same room with Ellie.....I could relate to her rebellious spirit. Other times, I was completely enchanted by the framing restoration details itself.
The relationship between women & 'prejudice' when it came to art was such a puzzle and 'tragic'. I thought of "The Blazing World", by Siri
Hustvedt - who went to great extre ...more

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Sep 29, 2016 Jen rated it really liked it

Here we have it: my authentic review. It has not been forged in any way, but a 17th century painting has and it's about to come into contact with the real one 40 years later.

The narrative starts with the artist herself and the inspiration or more accurately, the grief, for the painting. The story then moves to the latest owner, Marty, and the switcharoo that happens during a dinner party only to be discovered months later it's a fraud. The story then moves to the artist, Ellie, who was hired to ...more

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Jun 06, 2016 Andrew Smith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

In 1631 Sara de Vos is the first woman painter to be admitted to the Guild of St Luke’s in Holland. It’s the Dutch Golden Age, the time of Vermeer, Rembrandt and Hals. It’s unusual for women to paint anything other than still life, but Sara has produced a haunting winter scene which will be known as At the Edge of a Wood.

Skip forward to the late 1950’s, it’s New York and the painting sits above the bed of a rich middle aged lawyer, a descendent of the original owner. In Brooklyn, a young grad st In 1631 Sara de Vos is the first woman painter to be admitted to the Guild of St Luke’s in Holland. It’s the Dutch Golden Age, the time of Vermeer, Rembrandt and Hals. It’s unusual for women to paint anything other than still life, but Sara has produced a haunting winter scene which will be known as At the Edge of a Wood.

Skip forward to the late 1950’s, it’s New York and the painting sits above the bed of a rich middle aged lawyer, a descendent of the original owner. In Brooklyn, a young grad student is restoring paintings to earn some cash while she completes her doctoral thesis. She is approached by her usual contact with a request to undertake a painting task – but not a restoration this time.

Skip forward again, it’s post millennium and we are in Sydney, the home town of the young student we met earlier. Events are about to catch up with her. At the Edge of a Wood is being lent to the Sydney Art Gallery and events that were set in motion over forty years ago are about to come home to roost.

The story moves back and forth between the dates as it slowly unfolds. There’s tension and a genuine feeling of not knowing how it’s all going to play out, but the character development is well handled too and by the end I really cared for all of the key players. In truth, the story of Vos was probably the element I least enjoyed reading but I also felt it packed the biggest punch.

This book put me in mind of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch (a book I loved), not just because the tracking of a well known painting is at the heart of the narrative, but also because the mood and the quality of writing is comparable. It’s a very different tale, but in terms of it’s impact it had a similar effect on me. There are some superb descriptive passages: I can recall one depicting a jazz band as they perform a number in a 50’s jazz club and another of a man’s feeling of being in synch with the street as he wonders along taking in what’s happening around him.

It’s a tale of what enriches a life, and of relationships and family. It’s about regrets and the long term impacts of decisions we make. And it’s about second chances. It’s all of these things and more. It’s superbly done by an author new to me. If you enjoyed The Goldfinch or even if you didn’t but appreciate a well structured story with characters that have real depth, then give this one a chance. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

My sincere thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Apr 05, 2016 Angela M rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-reviews

I see the painting titled , "At the End of a Wood" in my mind from the perfectly detailed and beautiful description in the beginning of the book . For a minute I forget what I just read about Sara de Vos's character being a blend of the biographical details of several Dutch women painters in the 17th century and I'm ready to go find the image online . I'm immediately disappointed when I realize the only image I'll have of this painting is what's in my mind's eye . That disappointment dissipates ...more

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Oct 03, 2016 Candi rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, art

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is a beautifully written and expertly crafted novel that will leave you not only dreaming of the landscape of a mysterious painting, but also of the times and places that connect together throughout. The austere backdrop of seventeenth century Amsterdam provides the setting for one thread to this story. New York City and Manhattan during the late 1950s is wonderfully atmospheric, jumping between art galleries, universities, jazz clubs and the homes and offices of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is a beautifully written and expertly crafted novel that will leave you not only dreaming of the landscape of a mysterious painting, but also of the times and places that connect together throughout. The austere backdrop of seventeenth century Amsterdam provides the setting for one thread to this story. New York City and Manhattan during the late 1950s is wonderfully atmospheric, jumping between art galleries, universities, jazz clubs and the homes and offices of the upper crust. The final thread takes us to the cosmopolitan landscape of Sydney, Australia during the year 2000.

Sara de Vos is a fictional character but one who is shaped from a blend of known women painters from the Dutch Golden Age. The first woman to be admitted as a master to the Guild of St. Luke in Holland, Sara existed during a time when such famous artists as Rembrandt and Vermeer flourished. However, unlike her male counterparts, Sara was limited to painting still life scenes as dictated by the guild. When misfortune arrives at her doorstep, it seems that she can no longer put paint to canvas and continue her work under these stifling conditions. And then: "One blue afternoon, she sees a young girl trudging through a snowy thicket above a frozen branch of the Amstel. Something about the light, about the girl emerging alone from the wood, rouses her to the canvas. Painting a still life suddenly seems unimaginable." Thus emerges her remarkable work of art entitled ‘At the Edge of a Wood'.

The reader is then propelled to the year 1957 and the borough of Manhattan. ‘At the Edge of a Wood’ has been in Marty de Groot’s family for generations. One evening, Marty and his wife Rachel host a charity dinner in their home. Before crashing for the night, Marty notices the picture frame is slightly askew. What he doesn’t instantly realize is that his original painting has been swapped out for a forgery. When he eventually makes the discovery, Marty will take it upon himself to not only hire a private investigator to sniff things out, but will also play detective himself. Will he later regret some of his actions in his quest to uncover the truth?

Eleanor Shipley holds a lucrative position at Sydney University. It is the year 2000, and she has been invited to curate a museum exhibit of female Dutch painters. Eleanor, known as Ellie during her poor graduate student years, is far from being uninformed about this era of painters. In fact, she was writing her dissertation on just this topic back in the late 1950s. She once tried to make a name for herself in the world of art restoration and conservation, but her attempts were thwarted by her male counterparts who seemed to obtain the much sought after positions despite their lesser talent – not unlike the frustrations of gender inequality that Sara de Vos had to endure centuries earlier. When Eleanor hears that there are two copies of the same painting on their way to Sydney to be included in the museum exhibit, she will understand that she cannot escape her past. Old memories come back to haunt her, as will some deep-seated regrets. "For two days she’s had the sensation of seeing her own life as a painting under an X-ray – the hairline fractures and warped layers that distort the topmost image. She sees her private history, the personal epochs and eras in foreign cities, with a keen, clinical detachment. They have all led to the cracks on the surface and it’s time to take responsibility for those flaws".

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is a slow-burning but intriguing mystery. It took a bit of time for me to warm up to the characters of Marty and Ellie, but I was immediately drawn to Sara and her portion of the story. I was captivated by the descriptions of her painting and the aura of melancholy surrounding her early life. Her sections were my favorite part of this novel. Once the narrative moved forward in the 1950 and 2000 threads, I became engrossed with the novel as a whole. The way Dominic Smith weaves the story together was quite masterful and not at all difficult to follow. I didn’t know the techniques of art forgery could be so interesting, but even that stimulated my hungry little mind. And the ending – well, that was perfect.
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Mar 06, 2016 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites, plan-to-re-read, art, kindle, net-galley, read-2016

This excellent novel took me somewhat by surprise. I was expecting to be interested in this tale of the art world, theft and possible forgery, Netherlands and the art of the 17th century, but instead I was captivated.

This is such a fascinating story, taking place in 3 distinct time eras: 17th century Netherlands, 1950s New York City and Sydney, Australia of 2000. What might potentially become dangerously confused in less sure hands, is here intriguing and pulls the reader on through the pages a ...more

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Aug 07, 2016 Katie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: published-2016, set-in-the-us, artists

4.5 stars.
As was the case in The Goldfinch, an enigmatic 17th century Dutch painting is the focus of everything that happens in this novel. In three alternating narratives Smith provides us with a life of the painter, Sara de Vos, a life of its long-time owner, Marty de Groot and a life of the young woman who is called upon to forge it, Ellie Shipley. When the painting is stolen and replaced by a forgery Marty will forge a new identity in order to track down the people responsible for its theft 4.5 stars.
As was the case in The Goldfinch, an enigmatic 17th century Dutch painting is the focus of everything that happens in this novel. In three alternating narratives Smith provides us with a life of the painter, Sara de Vos, a life of its long-time owner, Marty de Groot and a life of the young woman who is called upon to forge it, Ellie Shipley. When the painting is stolen and replaced by a forgery Marty will forge a new identity in order to track down the people responsible for its theft and forgery. These three lives, unfolding respectively in 17th century Holland and 20th century New York and Sydney, will interact on each other with the painting acting as a kind of truth serum.

This is very much a mystery story. The first mystery is the enigmatic painting itself. It’s a depiction of skaters on a frozen river. But there’s a mysterious girl who has left footprints in the snow. “Somehow, she’s walked into this scene from outside the painting” and hovers there like a ghost. What was the inspiration behind the painting? The painting will be the summons to both Marty and Ellie to venture beyond the surfaces of their respective lives. Smith is brilliant at using the layered nature of painting itself to suggest the hidden complexity of any surface. “She has no interest in the composition from ten or twenty feet—that will come later. What she wants is topography, the impasto, the furrows where sable hairs were dragged into tiny painted crests to catch the light. Or the stray line of charcoal or chalk, glimpsed beneath a glaze that’s three hundred years old. She’s been known to take a safety pin and test the porosity of the paint and then bring the point to her tongue. Since old-world grounds contain gesso, glue, and something edible—honey, milk, cheese—the Golden Age has a distinctively sweet or curdled taste. She is always careful to avoid the leads and the cobalts.”

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos very much embraces the traditional values of novel writing. There’s nothing innovative about it nor does it provide startling insights into the human condition. But it’s brilliant storytelling, a real page turner, a quality it achieves largely because of its consistently elegant and eloquent prose and a seamless continuity between the three narratives. All three characters are compelling as individuals struggling to achieve identity.

I especially enjoyed the accounts of Ellie’s restoration work on paintings and the fabulously detailed account of her challenge to forge a 17th century old master painting. Smith describes the art of the forger as “plucking a second self from the folds of history” and this is what will happen to both Ellie and Marty, they will both pluck a second self from the folds of history.

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Oct 17, 2016 Lyn rated it really liked it

This beautifully written book was a pleasure to read.

When I was in high school back in the olden days of the mid eighties we had an art teacher named Mr. Gonzalez. He was a cool guy, would tell jokes and liked to hang out with my crowd of ne’er do wells and also rans. My senior year he talked me and a friend into using our last elective for his class.

“But I don’t know anything about art appreciation, and no talent whatsoever,” I rebutted to his invitation. “That’s why you should take the class, This beautifully written book was a pleasure to read.

When I was in high school back in the olden days of the mid eighties we had an art teacher named Mr. Gonzalez. He was a cool guy, would tell jokes and liked to hang out with my crowd of ne’er do wells and also rans. My senior year he talked me and a friend into using our last elective for his class.

“But I don’t know anything about art appreciation, and no talent whatsoever,” I rebutted to his invitation. “That’s why you should take the class, it’ll be fun.” I mentioned to another teacher that I had signed up for Gonzalez’ class and they looked at me with a knowing smirk.

The joke was on the students, the class kicked our ass. Unbeknownst to most of us teenage rednecks and knuckle draggers in the small town Southern high school, Mr. Gonzalez took his class and its subject very seriously. I passed his tough assignments and later took an undergraduate level art appreciation class.

The good news is that there is a generation of us running around in Middle Tennessee with at least a passable knowledge of and an appreciation for art. This awareness helped me to a greater understating of this book’s subject, but even a reader with no art history background would find Smith’s writing entertaining.

With its intricate description of art history and technical detail of art construction this reminded me of Geraldine Brooks’ 2008 novel People of the Book. Author Dominic Smith uses alternating perspectives from three different place and time settings to tell his story of an obscure but important work from the 1600s Golden Age of Dutch Masters. The painting, At the Edge of a Wood, was created by Dutch artist Sara de Vos and is a vivid illustration of loss and haunted mourning. Smith tells de Vos’ story as well as the story from the 1950s of the paintings’ theft and forgery – replete with an investigation and a complex relationship between owner and conservationist. Finally, Smith describes the final confrontation of art historians in 2000 as the truth plays out.

A great element of this novel is the writer’s talented ability to paint a picture of a time and place. Seventeenth century Holland breathes with life; we feel the cold damp air and smell the simple, earthy atmosphere. Smith reveals de Vos’ world of guilds and archaic laws, we can understand the economic loss of a tulip boom gone bust. Likewise, Smith’s account of 1950s New York is alive with jazz and the discordant sights of a metropolis vibrant with a history of its own, we can hear the lap of Hudson waters as they caress a riverboat floating north to Harlem and taste beer and pizza from a bench looking at the Brooklyn Bridge.

The obvious parallels and connections between the times and places, and between the characters serve to more fully frame Smith’s narrative. Using the separations in time, Smith creates a dramatic irony that is endearing and hypnotic.

Smith’s use of the alternating perspectives and of the intricately drawn histories and interrelated dynamics of the players makes for a fascinating reading experience. The reader is drawn into the lives of the characters and the drama surrounding both the creation of the painting and the evolution of its ownership is compelling, thought provoking and intoxicating. I took my time reading this, enjoying every page. The ending is quietly brilliant.

A very well written and enjoyable novel.

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Sep 03, 2016 Dem rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith is a book that I had been reluctant to read and this was largely due to my dislike of another Novel on Art which I struggled through. However The Last Painting of Sara de Vos was such an engaging and interesting read and I am so glad I picked this one up and had the chance to experience Dominic Smith's wonderful writing.

I loved the plot and the wonderful sense of time and place. The story switches between three timelines and locations from New Yo ...more

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Sep 17, 2016 Sara Steger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, borrowed-from-library

4.5 - rounded up.

This is a wonderfully woven tale of the art world and its intrigues that blends two stories, set in the 1600s, the 1950s and the year 2000. The intrigue focuses around a painting by a Dutch woman, Sara de Vos, the first woman admitted to the Guild of St. Luke, who has broken the imposed boundaries of her time by painting a landscape instead of a still-life. This painting, owned by a very wealthy collector in 1958, is stolen, and a young artist, named Ellie, is commissioned to pa 4.5 - rounded up.

This is a wonderfully woven tale of the art world and its intrigues that blends two stories, set in the 1600s, the 1950s and the year 2000. The intrigue focuses around a painting by a Dutch woman, Sara de Vos, the first woman admitted to the Guild of St. Luke, who has broken the imposed boundaries of her time by painting a landscape instead of a still-life. This painting, owned by a very wealthy collector in 1958, is stolen, and a young artist, named Ellie, is commissioned to paint a copy. The stories of these two very different, and yet somehow similar, women unfold with a touch of mystery that keeps you wanting to know more and more about their lives.

As is often the case with dual time period novels, I found myself wrapped up by the earlier era and resenting the intrusion of the later one at times. I wanted to know about Ellie, of course, but I was entranced by Sara (and not just because of that lovely name). I would have been just as happy if Mr. Smith had just told me Sara’s story in greater detail and left Ellie on the editing floor. However, since he did not, I must admit to loving the way he tied the two women together in the end.

I did like that Ellie was driven to create the forgery by something beyond a mercenary desire for money. I feel free to say that, since the forgery takes place in the early goings and I have not given away anything of the plot in referencing it. Does it matter if you did a wrong thing for a less sinister reason than might be suspected? Maybe not, but I suppose I am pleased to find a little higher moral character lurking in my criminals.

The writing here is beautifully done. Smith describes the painting in question in such vivid detail that it seems by the end of the book that you have seen it hanging in a museum you have visited, mixing with the Rembrandts and Vermeers. His characters have heart and substance. Sara, particularly, seems very real. She is the artist who must paint, the woman who never gets the recognition she deserves, and the soul that never stops trying to overcome sorrow. On the modern side, you could believe you might see Marty on a New York street and recognize his swagger as a sign of his easy privilege and wealth. And Ellie? Well, she is the girl in every woman who wants to achieve great things but lives with the knowledge of her own failures.

A very enjoyable read that never goes off course, I recommend this one to those who like historical fiction, mystery, or just a generally well-told story. There is a little something for everyone.

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Mar 29, 2016 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it

1600s, Holland, Sara is the first woman admitted to the artist's guild. Her husband was a painter of landscapes, but at that time woman were expected to paint only still life's. After a terrible tragedy changes the fabric of their family, Sara paints a landscape. This painting will affect the fortunes of others down the centuries.

Late 1950's Ellie Shipley is a young woman working on her thesis of Dutch woman painters, she is also working as a cleaner and restorer. She is asked to do something th ...more

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Sep 05, 2016 Dianne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-2016

Really, really good - an engaging and very well written story told from three points of view - the artist Sara DeVos (from the 1600's Netherlands), DeVos painting owner Marty (from late 1950's New York into the 2000's) and Australian art historian Ellie (also from late 1950's to 2000's).

I loved how the all the threads came together in the end and all the bits and pieces in the narratives about the world of painting and forgeries. At first, I didn't care for the "Marty thread," but I ended up lik ...more

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Oct 28, 2016 PorshaJo rated it really liked it

Shelves: challengereads, audio, challengereads-2016, challenge

This is the story of one painting and three people whose lives intersect because of this painting. First, the artist, Sara de Vos. A female dutch painter who is the first woman to be allowed into the Guild of St. Luke in Amsterdam, which did not admit many female painters. She paints, At the Edge of a Wood, a winter scene with a girl looking out at skaters over a frozen river. Next, Marty de Groot, a wealthy gentleman living in New York, and the owner of Sara's painting until the painting is sto ...more

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Jul 14, 2016 Rae Meadows rated it it was amazing

What a jewel box of a novel. Beautiful, elegant, haunting, and not a word out of place. It is restrained without being distant, moving without any overwrought pyrotechnics. I found it to be a quietly compelling page-turner about art, regret, loss, and finding meaning within the constraints of one's circumstances. Three separate narratives--1950s New York, 1630s Amsterdam, and 2000 Sydney--are interwoven seamlessly, building on each other in profound ways, all anchored by a painting. (On a side n ...more

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Jun 29, 2016 Navidad Thelamour rated it liked it

Recommended to Navidad by: Jennifer Masterson

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-2016, reviewed-on-amazon, reviewed-on-barnesandnoble, full-review

“How do you know you didn’t ruin my life forty years ago?”
“From what I can see, you never looked back.”
“I looked back, believe me,” she says.
“That makes two of us.”

Firstly, let me say to those who have read this novel, I have no idea why the Goodreads summary made me think I was going to be getting this:

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For those of you who haven’t read it and are considering it, it’s not that. :-)

**CAUTION, this review contains (mild) spoilers**
In 1631, Sara de Vos is a painter ahead of her time who is p ...more

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Sep 18, 2016 DeB MaRtEnS rated it really liked it

Shelves: dramatic-fiction, crime-mystery

Single word adjectives kept coming to mind as I read, "languid", "dolorous", "frilly", "exacting", "void"....no doubt inspired by the flood of description written on every page of "The Last Painting of Sara De Vos".

The novel is a feat of detail, following not only the item, the painting, but the action and physical art itself with its movement on carefully prepared surfaces, variable brushstrokes and the medium applied. I was entranced by the fictional Sara De Vos in 16th Century Netherlands as ...more

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Oct 03, 2016 Suzy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to, art, crime-mystery, secrets, journeying, historical-fiction

Dominic Smith masterfully tells the story of lives intertwined over the centuries by a painting. At the Edge of the Wood by Sara de Vos a 17th Century Dutch painter is one of the few landscape paintings created by a woman in that era. While women were admitted to the master painters' Guild of St. Luke's, they were relegated to still life painting, leaving the landscapes to men. The painting, done in the 1630's, is born of grief after the death of Sara's daughter.

The painting has been owned by an Dominic Smith masterfully tells the story of lives intertwined over the centuries by a painting. At the Edge of the Wood by Sara de Vos a 17th Century Dutch painter is one of the few landscape paintings created by a woman in that era. While women were admitted to the master painters' Guild of St. Luke's, they were relegated to still life painting, leaving the landscapes to men. The painting, done in the 1630's, is born of grief after the death of Sara's daughter.

The painting has been owned by and handed down in one family. We meet the current owner, wealthy Marty De Groot, in 1957 when he is giving a party in his Upper East Side New York townhouse to raise funds for some good cause. He notices some time after that At the Edge of the Wood is a fake - a fake that fooled him for a time until he sees a small detail that tells him his original has been stolen and replaced.

Enter Ellie Shipley, a grad student at Columbia originally from Australia, who was hired to create the forgery as part of a scam to get money from De Groot, something that haunts her for the rest of her life. She and De Groot meet in 1958, when De Groot assumes a fake identify to see if he can trap Ellie in her deceit. So much fakery going on!

Fast forward to Sidney, Australia in the year 2000 where Ellie is a professor specializing in 17th Century Dutch art. An exhibition is being launched which will include At The Edge of the Wood. But which painting will arrive in Sidney? Will Ellie's forgery be exposed? What happened to Marty De Groot? Does he still own the fake or did he get the original back?

Seeing what I've written so far, I feel I'm doing a disservice to the power of this book! So many layers of goodness to connect with as Smith expertly traverses time between the 1630's to tell Sara's story, the 1950's to tell the mystery of the art theft/forgery and the year 2000 to answer these questions and many more. Edoardo Ballerini was excellent at bringing the threads of this sweeping story to life. The last hour touched me so, I listened with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. The Last Painting of Sara De Vos was a delight! Highly recommended. ...more

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Jul 11, 2016 Carolyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical, australian-author

This fine novel plunges us into the world of art restoration and its close cousin, art forgery. Ellie Shipley is a graduate student studying Dutch women artists of the 17th century and eking out a living restoring old works of art. When she is asked to paint a copy of a 17th century painting "At the End of a Wood" from a photograph, she is tempted into doing it to see if she can. The ramifications of her actions will resonate through her life and finally catch up with her some 40 years later.

In This fine novel plunges us into the world of art restoration and its close cousin, art forgery. Ellie Shipley is a graduate student studying Dutch women artists of the 17th century and eking out a living restoring old works of art. When she is asked to paint a copy of a 17th century painting "At the End of a Wood" from a photograph, she is tempted into doing it to see if she can. The ramifications of her actions will resonate through her life and finally catch up with her some 40 years later.

In telling this story the novel moves through the Holland of the 1660s to the brownstones of 1950s New York to Sydney in the year 2000. A member of the Dutch Guild, Sara de Vos is only licensed to paint still lives. "At the End of a Wood" is the only known landscape painted by her and the reasons for this are explored in the context of her life and times. In the 1950s the painting has been in the family of wealthy Marty de Groot for three hundred years and he keeps it hanging in his bedroom where he can enjoy it every day. Ellie moves on from New York to become an art curator and in organising an exhibition of Dutch women painters has to deal with her past when both the real and the fake copy of the painting turn up together.

The description of each place and time felt very realistic. The details of life as a painter in Holland in the 17th century, the poverty and the diseases that destroyed families were well depicted. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Ellie's work as a restorer of old paintings and the details of the materials used to give the repairs an aged look. And then there is finally Ellie's life in Sydney on Scotland Island and her work at the Art Gallery, looking back at a successful life but with a sense of loneliness. She almost welcomes the ripples of her actions some four decades earlier that have finally reached her at the other side of the world and that she must now face.

I very much enjoyed this very original novel and recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction.

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Jan 16, 2017 Roger Brunyate rated it really liked it

Shelves: art

A Depiction and a Lie

Before that first line of pale chalk, before the underdrawing fleshes out into shapes and proportions, there is a stab of grief for all the things she didn't get to paint. The finches wheeling in the rafters of the barn, Cornelis reading in the arbor, Tomas bent over in his roses in the flower garden, apple blossoms, walnuts beside oysters, Kathrijn in the full bloom of her short life, Barent sleeping in a field of lilacs, the Gypsies in the market, late-night revelers in t

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Aug 12, 2016 Dana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

This novel is a brilliant little gem. Dominic Smith has painted a luminous work of art with his beautiful prose. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is an elegantly layered story covering three narratives – 1630s (Sara de Vos), 1950s (Ellie Shipley) to 2000 – where the artists and paintings seem to merge like doppelgängers. This is beautifully written, and well researched, story of art, deception, and unrevealed grief.

A solid 4+ stars.

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May 07, 2016 Anmiryam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: print-arc, naiba-2015, pub-2016, favorites-2016, historical-fiction-2016, literary-2016, male-writers-2016

Who'd have thunk my words would have ended up in a New York Times Ad for this book? They did, and I'm kvelling:

What a brilliant melding of subject and atmosphere. This book reads as if it were a 17th century Dutch Masterpiece -- beautiful, clear, complex and infused with both joy and longing. As good a novel as I've ever read that uses art and art history as a way of elucidating the human heart. Highly recommended!

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Dec 15, 2016 Rebecca Foster rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

A beautiful novel about art and regret. Jessie Burton, Tracy Chevalier and all others who try to write historical fiction about the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, eat your hearts out. (The first Kindle book I ever spent money on.)

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May 31, 2016 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Review to come.

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Sep 16, 2016 Camie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the story of a one of a kind priceless antique painting and its unheard of (at the time ) female Dutch painter Sara De Vos, blue blood New York City lawyer Marty de Groot it's owner, and Eleanor Shipley a hired Australian forger. Obviously there's a crime here , along with a mystery, and a scheme of retaliation that goes awry. I agree with comparisons to Chevalier's, The Girl With A Pearl Earring, as it's compelling reading and Tartts, The Goldfinch, as you'll feel pretty darn smart whil ...more

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Sep 13, 2016 Amber rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, library-books, great-novels, historical-fiction, kuyh, read-2016, 2016-best, art

This was a pretty great read. The author impressed me with his ability to weave the past with the present in a smooth way. The book takes place in 3 time periods with 3 different narrators who are tied to a particular Dutch painting from the 1600’s. I didn’t find any of the time periods or narrators to be lacking in depth, I really enjoyed them all. The book is really a mystery in a sense, but infused with stories of loneliness from the main characters. What was particularly good in this book wa ...more

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Sep 02, 2016 Carlos rated it liked it

Shelves: adult-fiction-btw

3 1/2 stars actually (when will goodreads allow 1/2 stars ratings... It so logical....but i digress) I was going to give this book 4 stars but something didn't set right with me about the ending , it seemed too fortuitous for my liking , the story I liked , the characters are complex and well developed through the book, i do recommend this book if you loved "the improbability of love "by Hanna Rothschild or "the art forget" by Barbara Shapiro , as those books share a lot of the intricacies regar ...more

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Mar 18, 2016 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016

I loved 1.5 out of the 3 timelines told in this book - like, LOVED them. The other half of the book felt bloated and tired, bogged down by the way some male novelists can't write women's pov except as internally inscrutable and constantly calibrating our lives based on men.

BASICALLY IDK, I loved reading about Holland in the 17thc., loved the expanse of the skies and the way the language echoed the clouds, loved the interiority of the prose against the landscape - BUT why can't a dude who writes ...more

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Sep 09, 2016 Kasia rated it it was ok

I just realized how inadequate my knowledge of history of art is. Need to read more about it.

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About Dominic Smith

Dominic grew up in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Austin, Texas. His short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and appeared in numerous journals and magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly and The Chicago Tribune.

Dominic is the author of four novels, most recently of The Last Painting of Sara de Vos (forthcoming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and Bright and Distant Shores (a sel ...more

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“She has no interest in the composition from ten or twenty feet—that will come later. What she wants is topography, the impasto, the furrows where sable hairs were dragged into tiny painted crests to catch the light. Or the stray line of charcoal or chalk, glimpsed beneath a glaze that’s three hundred years old. She’s been known to take a safety pin and test the porosity of the paint and then bring the point to her tongue. Since old-world grounds contain gesso, glue, and something edible—honey, milk, cheese—the Golden Age has a distinctively sweet or curdled taste. She is always careful to avoid the leads and the cobalts. What” — 6 likes

“Old age is having the name of a chiropractor in your wallet. It's cutting out coupons for the zeal of discounted small items and the practice of fine motor skills.” — 6 likes

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