The Portrait (33 page)

Author’s Note

I
n the mid- to late-nineteenth century,
New York City
was the American artists' mecca. The areas along lower Broadway and
Greenwich Village
were filled with art dealers and studios, and the affluent sponsored and patronized artists as much to prove the measure of their taste and success as for investment purposes.

The National Academy of Design was the preeminent art school and gallery in
New York
at this time, and every year it held a very popular exhibition for local artists. Though the exhibition was always in the late spring, readers will note I have changed it to the autumn in my story. Because of the nature of Jonas's illness, and several other factors, it served my purposes better to take some creative license with the timing.

Jonas's sufferings from bipolar illness (commonly called manic-depressive illness) are not atypical. Those diagnosed with bipolar illness experience mood swings that range from mild euphoria and depression to extreme life-threatening and psychotic episodes. Though lithium and other medications can sometimes be used with great effectiveness in controlling the cycle, there are those who are not treatable—or who refuse treatment.

In the nineteenth century, there was no choice. The only "treatments" for bipolar illness were alcohol or drug abuse, confinement to asylums, or suicide. In spite of that, many of those who suffered did survive to contribute lasting and beautiful works of art— among them are thought to be Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Schumann, Robert Lowell, and Vincent van Gogh.

Though a small number creative artists are actually bipolar, studies have shown that artists as a group have a higher percentage of bipolar illness than the general population, and recent studies have explored this link. For those wishing to read further, I recommend Kay Redfield Jamison's excellent book on creativity and manic-depression,
Touched with Fire.

Megan Chance is the critically acclaimed author of several novels. She lives in the
Pacific Northwest
with her husband and two daughters.
The Portrait
was originally published in 1995.