The Very Picture of You

Where the eye sees the brushstroke, the heart sees the truth.At thirty-five, Gabriella “Ella” Graham is a successful portrait artist in London. She captures the essential truth in each of her subjects’ faces—a tilt of the chin, a glint in the eye—and immortalizes it on canvas. But closer to home, Ella finds the truth more elusive. Her father abandoned the family when she was five, and her mother has remained silent on the subject ever since. Ella’s sister, Chloe, is engaged to Nate, an American working in London, but Ella suspects that he may not be so committed. Then, at Chloe’s behest, Ella agrees to paint Nate’s portrait.From session to session, Ella begins to see Nate in a different light, which gives rise to conflicted feelings. In fact, through the various people she paints—including an elderly client reflecting on her life and a woman dreading the prospect of turning forty—Ella realizes that there is so much more to a person’s life than what is seen on the surface. And as her portraits of Nate and the others progress, they begin to reveal less about their subjects than about the artist herself.Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.From BooklistArtist Ella Graham is known for capturing the true essence of her subjects in her portraits—in fact, she’s just recently become semifamous for it, after England’s new duchess selects Ella to paint her for the National Portrait Gallery. In her mid-thirties and single, Ella’s devotion to her craft eats up most of her time, making the relationships she forges with her subjects—whom she requires to sit for 12 full hours—some of her most intimate. However, when, much to her dismay, she is hired to paint her sister’s loathsome new American fiancé, Ella learns that it isn’t solely her subjects she exposes while painting, but sometimes she uncovers something about herself. Wolff seamlessly adds many slow-to-reveal characters into the fold—a politician with a painful secret, the aging owner of a mysterious and beautiful painting, Ella’s long-gone father back to explain himself—and, with the use of an artist’s lexicon that serves her quite well, ties it all into an exceptionally neat and tidy ending. --Annie Bostrom Review“Engrossing, warm, and downright delightful.”—Sarah Pekkanen “The Very Picture of You is a funny, poignant story about the relationships that shape who we are. Isabel Wolff writes about how staying true to ourselves ultimately gives us the things we want the very most.”—Darien Gee, author of Friendship Bread “Captivating, seductive . . . This novel reflects how beauty exists in all facets of life, especially in people.”—RT Book Reviews“The Very Picture of You is absolutely charming. You’ll root for Ella, the engaging heroine, and find yourself wishing you could sit for one of her portraits.”—Whitney Gaskell, author of Good Luck