Portrait

An exquisite and enthralling novel of art, ambition and betrayal

Between 1898 and his death in 1916, the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi painted more than two dozen pictures of his wife, Ida, seen only from the back.

This is her story, told from the front.

'Quietly beautiful and deeply felt' Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure

Between 1898 and his death in 1916, the Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi painted more than two dozen pictures of his wife, Ida, seen only from the back.

This is her story, told from the front.

'Quietly beautiful and deeply felt' Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure

Copenhagen,1898. Danish painter, Vilhelm Hammershøi is on the cusp of greatness. Nobody knows this better than his wife, Ida, who devotes her days to facilitating her husband’s genius.

With the news that the great American painter James McNeil Whistler – Vilhelm’s artistic idol – is putting together an exhibition in London, the couple relocate to England in the hope of winning his attention.

But here things begin to change. Ida and Vilhelm learn that, on the ladder of ambition, it is possible to lose sight of each other, and themselves. And by the end of the year, a devastating betrayal will define the way the world sees Vilhelm – and Ida – forever.