Painted Kiss

In this passionate and atmospheric debut novel, Elizabeth Hickey reimagines the tumultuous relationship between the Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and Emilie Floge, the woman who posed for Klimt's masterpiece The Kiss -- and whose name he uttered with his dying breath. Vienna in 1886 was a city of elegant cafes, grand opera houses, and a thriving and adventurous artistic community. It is here where the twelve-year-old Emilie meets the controversial libertine and painter. Hired by her bourgeois father for basic drawing lessons, Klimt introduces Emilie to a subculture of dissolute artists, wanton models, and decadent patrons that both terrifies and inspires her. The Painted Kiss follows Emilie as she blossoms from a naive young girl to one of Europe's most exclusive couturiers -- and Klimt's most beloved model and mistress. A provocative love story that brings to life Vienna's cultural milieu, The Painted Kiss is as compelling as a work by Klimt himself.

"[A] decorous...investigation of art and artifice...The Painted Kiss throws [the Klimt] mystery into stark relief." -- The New York Times, "[R]ichly atmospheric and haunting." -- Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light, "A graceful imagining." -- Kirkus Reviews, "Hickey's language is sensual, lush, and unhurried...[an] expressively written debut." -- Publishers Weekly

Elizabeth Hickey was an art history major at Williams College and earned her Masters in Fine Art from Columbia University. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed THE PAINTED KISS.