Customer Reviews

Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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For those interested in 20th century literature and art, the Murphys are always a fascinating subject. Their influence was far-reaching if not obvious and their lives were filled with amazing challenges. Money helped Sarah and Gerald enter into the circles of their interests but did not save them from grief and loss. Apparently it did not spoil their enthusisam for life nor their creative ideas.
This book is especially invaluable if you are looking for depictions of Gerald Murphy's paintings. It provides plates which can be studied for evidence of his place as a bona fide artist of considerable talent. The photographs of the Murphys and their many celebrity friends are also charming.
This is a great addition to a contemporary library.

I have reviewed two other books about Gerald and Sara Murphy, who lived in Paris during the great literary era of American expatriates. They knew everyone and Gerald was a serious painter in his own right. They are seen in the musical biography of Cole Porter titled, "De-Lovely" and have been the subject of several excellent biographies. This book mixes more biography with more illustrations, including many photos of the Murphys, their famous friends and their villa on the French Riviera. It is a companion to the other two biographies I have reviewed here. Read one or both of them first, then spend some time leafing through this memoir in pictures.

This is an excellent account of an era,the "jazz age" in Paris., when the Murphys lived there and in the south of France,and then their later life,when tragedy became, seemingly, the order of the day for them. The essays are particularly well-written. I put the book down wanting to read more, and feeling gratified that Gerald's painting was recognized in the last years of his life.

This is his second book about the Murphy's -- the first Living Well is the Best Revenge -- is a classic. Both are must-reads for students of the lost generation. An American tragedy in real life.

Beautiful ,interesting book...a revealing look at the times and the writers and artists living in Europe. wonderful photographs I have not seen in other publications..fabulous lifestyle..beautiful people especially Sara and Gerald