The White Blackbird: 8a Life of the Painter Margarett Sargent by Her Granddaughter

I don't know why this book isn't better known, or why we haven't heard much more from Honor Moore, whose grandmother's life is fascinating, tragic and ultimately mysterious. Unlike so many contemporary biographies, this one isn't overly long or obsessed with detail at the expense of perspective. An exquisite piece of work from start to finish--one of the best biographies I have ever read.

A very honest study of Honor Moore's grandmother Margarett Sargent. I was impressed by the amount of research that went into painting a portrait of a complex and intelligent woman and artist. A certain amount of sympathy is felt for Margarett, yet she was a proud independent woman whose strength inspires. For me, Margarett's life transcended the label of "wealthy society woman." She had great talent that she put to use. With all the advances in anti-depressives and the treatment of bi-polar illness one wonders if the mental illness that helped suck her into a vacuum of loss would have been able to do so in this decade. In the end, her loss became our loss. Honor Moore did a great thing by keeping her grandmother's memory alive so that we could revisit her colorful art and life. A great read

Honor Moore spent more than a decade researching the life of her grandmother, the painter Margarett Sargent, in an attempt to understand why she stopped painting in middle age. "It was too intense," was all her grandmother ever told the author, late in the ex-painter's long life. Ms. Moore attempts to show that the demands of Sargent's privileged Boston society lifestyle forced her to give up her art and contributed to her madness. A wonderful read, and a surprising insight into the creative process, especially in a woman. --Jack Sheed