Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Katherine Kovacic, Echo, $29.99.
An unsolved murder comes to light after almost seven decades and it forms an intriguing focal point of Kovacic’s first novel. The subject matter – Melbourne, the art world, a murder mystery, a deliberate concealment of facts and a historical crime -makes is both enterprising and interesting.
A missing painting by a reasonably collectable artist, Colin Coulahan, has been unearthed in an op shop in a regional town and put up for auction, but only freelance art dealer Alex Clayton realises its value, which is increased by the story attached to it. The portrait is of Molly Dean, the artist’s lover, a woman in her mid-20s who was battered to death and whose killer was never brought to justice.
“The painting is filthy and the varnish has discoloured to a nasty yellow, which is probably part of the reason Lane & Co. has failed to recognise the artist. But I can see the jewel tones beneath the dirt, and as I gaze at the lovely young woman with her short dark bob and mischievous brown eyes, I know I am staring into the face of Molly Dean.”
This is an introduction to the infamous Molly Dean, seen through the eyes of Clayton, in 1999. The Portrait of Molly Dean is a multi timeframe re-imagining of the tragic true story. For Molly met her death in November 1930, in a dark laneway in Melbourne.
Art historian Kovacic fills the gaps. The result evidently involved many diligent hours on her part researching the social and artistic life of Melbourne in the 20s and 30s. The past narrative is set in the world of Bohemia; populated with true characters from history, with the modern set in the vicious arena of fine art dealership of the late 1990s.
