Majosta The Women in White: A Novel About Sorolla, Velázquez … and Memory

Joaquín Sorolla, the great Spanish painter, once took the United States by storm. His exhibition in 1909 at the Hispanic Society of America was the most popular such event to that time in New York City. Building on this triumph, he was invited to the White House to paint the official portrait of the American President, William Howard Taft. Sorolla was an artistic phenomenon in America! Over his career, Sorolla painted over 4,000 stunningly beautiful paintings, including his epic series of murals—on permanent display at the Hispanic Society—depicting the life in Spain at the beginning of the 20th Century. Yet, despite all his magnificent achievements, and a remarkable life journey, he is largely lost in the American artistic consciousness. This novel tells his story, and of his relationship with the great Spanish master, Diego Velázquez … and ultimately, of how art connects us all. ~ My dear friend, Kelly Conway, has written an unusual and deeply touching novel titled The Women in White. It tenderly tells his vision of my great-grandfather’s story, and highlights his connection to the great Spanish master, Diego Velázquez. Along the way, the reader will learn many things about my great-grandfather, Velázquez, and the remarkable country of Spain. For those who know little of Sorolla’s work, this novel, which includes over one hundred splendid reproductions of his and Velazquez’s remarkable paintings, is a wonderful introduction. Among them, is highlighted his epic project The Vision of Spain, which sits far away in New York, on the walls of the Hispanic Society of America. These fourteen murals capture the life of Spain at the beginning of the 20th Century. This book is a beautiful love letter to Sorolla, his wife, Clotilde, and to the country of Spain. I am deeply grateful he wrote it.” ~Blanca Pons-Sorolla, great-granddaughter of Joaquín Sorolla