Arnie Greenberg

Twice Deceived: a Story with an Ending ...an Ending ...an Ending... Arnie Greenberg

In the 1920s, American author Gertrude Stein had her portrait painted by Pablo Picasso. She had a replica made by a famous Russian copyist so she could have the image with her at all times. When it is delivered, Gertrude hangs the original and the copy side by side in her picture gallery. The paintings sit high on a 20-foot wall and can be seen only in subdued gaslight. Even Picasso can't tell them apart from a distance. Years later when Gertrude dies, the original is left to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. When it is checked by experts, it is discovered that the museum received the wrong painting. They hire investigators, who find the other painting in a village in central France. They take the two paintings to Picasso for him to check. Picasso says both paintings are copies. The investigators interview all those in Gertrude's circle and discovers that the copyist copied the painting twice, while the original has disappeared. How the real painting is found is the secret of Twice Deceived. This story is a study of Paris of the '20s, and includes famous artists living there at the time, including Modigliani, Picasso, Kisling and Diego Rivera. While this story is fiction, the original Picasso now hangs at the Met in New York. Arnie Greenberg is a retired Montreal college professor who has written novels and texts, as well as plays about Picasso and one about Gertrude Stein and Hemingway. He also worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, writing over 1,000 scripts. Publisher's Web site: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TwiceDeceived-AStoryWithAnEnding.html