The Underpainter
by Jane Urquhart
List Price: $12.95
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0140269738
Publisher: Penguin USA
"Each
afternoon now, when I have finished my work, memory beckons me into the
street, insists that I walk with her in the snow."
With these words, Austin Fraser,
a seventy-five-year-old American minimalist painter, beckons us into his
world—a world populated by the ghosts of his past, a world that has
come to be as cold and fractured as the icy terrain upon which he has
treaded so carefully his entire life. In the name of art, Austin Fraser
has perfected—if not the craft of painting—then the craft of
guarding the inner chambers of his heart from those who love him.
In her stunning new novel The
Underpainter, Jane Urquhart contemplates the weight of a life not truly
lived and the consequences of sacrificing one's humanity for the sake
of art. A series of canvases called The Erasures earns Austin Fraser fame
in the art world. After painting a highly detailed narrative scene, he
systematically "erases" the images with progressively lighter shades of
color. Richly textured, multilayered, brimming with precisely drawn characters
and unforgettable images that rise—and then disappear—from its
pages, The Underpainter's narrative echoes The Erasure series. In
a masterful twist, Jane Urquhart uses these paintings as an ingenious
metaphor for the love that Austin cannot accept, and the people that he
continually exiles to the corners of his mind.
It is, perhaps, the philosophy
of Austin's mentor Robert Henri that most influences the solitary
path of his life. About the emotions and sensation of life Robert Henri
said to his students, "Each sensation is precious. Protect it, cherish
it, keep it. Never give it away. When you are alone, without the distraction
of the community and affection, this will be easier to achieve." While
Austin admits that before meeting his teacher "neither community nor affection
played a significant role in my life," he also says that the words of
Robert Henri "gave [him] permission to remain aloof." Jane Urquhart surrounds
Austin with a cast of individuals who, unlike her narrator, are intensely
attached to the physical world and unafraid to love—or to lose. We
meet Austin's eccentric mother—with her passion for visiting
graveyards and taking her uneasy young son on vigorous walks through the
wild rocky landscape of Rochester, New York. Austin's father is driven
by the pain of Austin's mother's death to a life of riches and
capitalism, and a china-painter named George finds respite from the carnage
of World War I in the arms of a similarly shell-shocked nurse named Augusta.
Sarah, a waitress who lives in the remote mining settlement of Silver
Islet, Ontario, is Austin's long-time model and mistress. For fifteen
summers she gives both body and soul to Austin, who suddenly exits her
life saying, "I have finished painting you." We also meet Rockwell Kent,
a famous artist who follows his own advice to "get drunk and have a love
affair"; and, finally, Vivian, the woman whose reappearance after many
years irrevocably splinters Austin's life while driving the novel
to its powerful climax.
In the end, Austin Fraser embarks
on the very last canvas of The Erasure series. He begins to paint a portrait
of himself incorporating "the love that I could not accept coming towards
me, despite my cloak of fear, the implacable rock man, the miles and miles
of ice." At last, he attempts to reach beyond the dark shorelines of loneliness
and the endless snowy plains of memory, to a place where the creative
process is no longer solitary, where the images of his past can finally
remain vibrant—and unerased.
top of the page
1. How do Austin Fraser's Erasure paintings echo the narrative of The Underpainter?
2. Austin Fraser says that, for the sake of his painting, he "trespasses everywhere
and I thieved constantly." The most obvious example of this is his relationship
with Sarah, his model and mistress. Do you think that Sarah understands
that Austin is "mining" their relationship in order to perfect his paintings
of her? If so, why do you suppose she continues to pose for him? Who else
does Austin "thieve" from?
3.
Is there any character in the novel that does not allow Austin to exploit
their relationship?
4. Are there any similarities between Sarah's father and Austin's mother? How is Sarah's
relationship with her father similar— or different—from Austin's
relationship with his mother?
5. Why does Augusta need to tell Austin her life's story? Do you think that the fact that
Augusta offered him her story, rather than him having to "thieve" it from
her, changed the value of it in Austin's eyes? Was this a turning
point for him? Austin is intensely interested in Augusta's story—a
woman whom he barely knew, yet, other than learning about Sarah's
father, he shows absolutely no interest in learning the details of Sarah's
life. Why is this so?
6. What is the significance of Augusta's "lost girl in the woods" dream sequence? Are there other
examples of characters disappearing, or feeling like they are lost in
The Underpainter? Is this a theme that surrounds only the female characters?
If so, why?
7. Think about the topography of the places that are important parts of Austin's life:
Rochester, Davenport, and Silver Islet, Canada. How do these landscapes
mimic Austin's inner self? Why does he choose to paint the cold, rocky
landscapes of the north?
8. Compare Austin's minimalist paintings with George's narrative china painting. How are
their respective choices of painting styles reflected in how they live
their lives? Is it surprising that these two men remained such good friends
for so long? What common bond do you think they shared? Consider Austin's
friendship with Rockwell Kent. How is it different from his friendship
with George?
9. Compare George's occupation, china-painting, to the war. Could he have ever returned to
painting idyllic narrative scenes after experiencing the chaos of battle?
What is the significance of the shattered pieces of china found throughout
The Underpainter? How is George's response to the broken china different
from Austin's response?
10. Do you think that
the fate of Augusta and George would have been as tragic if they had not
been involved in the war? Was George damaged more by the war than he was
by Vivian's rejection?
11. Do you think that George's art is inferior to Austin's art? Why is Austin so profoundly
affected by Rockwell's criticism of his paintings of Sarah? Is his
criticism valid?
12. A very powerful scene in The Underpainter is the one in which Austin waits for Sarah at
the hotel. For days, he continually visualizes himself finally opening
up to her, finally giving—and receiving—love. In the end, though,
he leaves before Sarah even arrives. Did you know that Austin would reject
this opportunity to regain his humanity?
13. It has often been said that the essence of art lies in the way an artist lives, rather than
in the way an artist paints. Is this true of Austin after the death of
Augusta and George? What about at the end of The Underpainter?
top of the page
"An engaging and moving exploration of love: mother-love, romantic love, love of country....Away is a melancholy Irish ballad sung on foreign soil, its words and music all the sweeter for being heard so far away from home."—The Washington Post Book World
"A vividly drawn and richly textured saga that follows the lives of three generations of women . . . Enchanting and highly imaginative."—New York Newsday
