He nods. ‘Let me know in the next few weeks, would you?’ Then Robert Swindon turns and starts back into his museum, hands in pockets.

‘Robert,’ I call after him and he stops. ‘I assume you’ll end up having to call a press conference about all of this.’

He partly turns, and briefly closes his eyes. ‘Unfortunately, and I’m not looking forward to it.’

‘Not surprised.’ I tuck my arm through John’s and move toward the door where a guard waits to let us out. ‘When you hold the press conference,’ I raise my voice a bit so Swindon can still hear me, ‘maybe not in front of Man Proposes.’

The door shuts behind us and John and I step out into a cool city, washed clean by the storm.

Author's Notes

Author’s Notes

The Melbourne International Museum of Art does not exist. The building described here takes many of its features from Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria, and MIMA’s permanent collection is also based on that of the NGV. However, the internal layout, staff and events described are entirely fictional and any resemblance to actual people or events, past or present, is entirely coincidental.

For fans of CSI, the program premiered in the USA in October 2000, but wasn’t screened on Australian television until April 2001.

The paintings used or ‘borrowed’ for the exhibition, Masterpieces of Victorian Britain, can be found in the following collections:

Mariana, John Everett Millais, Tate Gallery, London, UK

Man Proposes, God Disposes, Sir Edwin Landseer, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Beata Beatrix, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Tate Gallery, London, UK

The Earl and Countess of Sefton and daughter, with horses and dogs, Sir Edwin Landseer, National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

The vintage festival, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

The Last of England, Ford Madox Brown, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK

Helen of Troy, Frederick Sandys, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK

Henry Edward Manning, George Frederic Watts, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

The Reconciliation of the Montagues and Capulets, Frederic Lord Leighton, Yale Centre for British Art, Connecticut, USA

No paintings were harmed in the creation of this story.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Angela Meyer for all your suggestions, support and ever-so-gentle critiquing; I think Alex and John would like to hang out with you. Thank you also to my agent Sally Bird, and to all the team at Echo Publishing who worked so hard to bring this book to life. And to all my friends who have smiled and nodded when I’ve missed another social occasion, sorry about that – I owe you.

Questions for Reading Groups

Questions for Reading Groups

1. Alex Clayton often sees the world in terms of art and paintings she knows. Is this a good thing?

2. Does it increase her understanding or distance her from reality?

3. It is said that the painting, Man Proposes God Disposes, is cursed. Do you believe in magic and curses?