All the evidence-of technique, color, subject-is there, yet the painting lacks documentation to validate its authenticity: nor will the math teacher, one Cornelius Engelbrecht, tell just how it became his. The only wobble in this elegant little book is at the start, where a stiffness in character may be intended but jars even so: a high-school math teacher confides to a colleague that he owns (and adores) a painting-of a girl sewing at a window-that he knows is a Vermeer. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.Vreeland’s wonderful second outing (What Love Sees, 1996, not seen) is a novel made of stories, each delving farther into the provenance of a Vermeer painting, and each capturing a moment of life, much as the great painter did himself. Vreeland' s characters remind us, through their love of the mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts, and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable. As the painting moves through each owner' s hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in human lives. The professor swears it is a Vermeer - why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work' s inspiration. A LUMINOUS TALE ABOUT ART AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE THAT IS AS BREATHTAKING AS ANY VERMEER PAINTING A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades.

Susan Vreeland' s characters remind us, through their love of this mysterious painting, how beauty transforms and why we reach for it, what lasts and what in our lives is singular and unforgettable. As the painting moves through each owner' s hands, what was long hidden quietly surfaces, illuminating poignant moments in multiple lives. The professor swears it is a Vermeer-but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of events that trace the ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work' s inspiration.

This luminous story begins in the present day, when a professor invites a colleague to his home to see a painting that he has kept secret for decades.

Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland