An Affair with Beauty - The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy: Romantic Illusions - Hardcover

As a freshman at the University of Maryland, Jim Head discovered a gilt-edged folio of Charles Dana Gibson's The Social Ladder in the stacks of the campus library one night, starting him on a journey to learn more about Gibson and the ''Illustrators of Beauty''. In turn, he became captivated by the talent, fame, and subsequent obscurity of Howard Chandler Christy, and began amassing the largest private collections of documents, photographs, and other material related to the artist. Over the years, he has interviewed Christy's former models, family members, and others who knew him, and ultimately engaged research assistants throughout the country to help him uncover the true, untold story of Christy and his wife, Nancy. Head is a law partner with Williams Mullen, P.C., in Tysons Corner, Virginia, where he concentrates in estate planning and trust and estate litigation. He lives in Chantilly, Virginia, with his wife Rita, and daughter Christianna.

"Everything about "Romantic Illusions," book two in the An Affair with Beauty trilogy by James Philip Head, is top-notch - a notable piece celebrating American culture, art, history, and beauty - and an extraordinary read.  Well done!" ─  Sheri Hoyte, Reader Views

"James Head impressively presents his deep research and an honest portrayal of one artist who deserves to be more widely known." ─  G. J. Berger, Historical Novel Society

FIVE out of FIVE stars -- "Although Romantic Illusions tells the story of Christy's life, it is narrated by Ms. Palmer using her own recollections of his story and the years they spent together. This separation from Christy himself choice is an apt narration tactic, as it is only through art that we see the man, and it is only through his own art that Christy was able to see the world. Christy's story, and indeed all of our own, are always filtered through something or someone else, whether that be the recollections of family, the records we leave behind, or our art. It is a reminder that Christy's search for "the ideal" would prove to be ultimately unfruitful. In the book, he says, "I see nothing but the beautiful. Beauty is everywhere. There is illusion too, but I don't allow myself to see it." (p. 240). What he does not see is that it is only the illusion of beauty that he captures. He takes the world and makes it beautiful in his art, not the other way around.  Head's prose captures early twentieth-century speech with seamless effort, immersing the reader in Christy's world. The reader not only gets the benefit of Head's prose but also comes face to face with Christy's art. Throughout the book Head has inserted Christy's illustrations and portraits, giving us more a glimpse of Christy's soul that cannot simply be told.  -- Zack Eydenberg, Seattle Book Review

FIVE out of FIVE stars -- "James Philip Head did a wonderful and very professional job of finding out everything about Christy and arranging it in a very readable novel." -- Danielle McManus, Manhattan Book Review