"[An] elegantly written account of all facets of the life and career of George A. Lucas . . . of Belle Époque Paris and Gilded Age America." —Inge Reist, Director Emeritus of The Frick Collection's Center for the History of CollectingIn 1857, young Baltimorean George A. Lucas arrived in Paris, where he established an extensive personal network of celebrated artists and art dealers, becoming the quintessential French connection for American collectors. The most rema...

Collecting Italian Renaissance paintings during America’s Gilded Age was fraught with risk because of the uncertain identities of the artists and the conflicting interests of the dealers. Stanley Mazaroff’s fascinating account of the close relationship between Henry Walters, founder of the legendary Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, and Bernard Berenson, the era’s preeminent connoisseur of Italian paintings, richly illustrates this important chapter of America’s cultural history.Whe...