Summary

The Muralist opens with a quote by Doris Kearns Goodwin in reference to Eleanor Roosevelt. The author provides a note emphasizing the novel as a work of fiction; historical figures interact with fictional characters, and all incidents and dialogue are products of B.A. Shapiro's imagination.

The first chapter begins in 2015, as Danielle arrives at her desk to find a carton of notable paintings by Abstract Expressionists. There are over a dozen paintings, rumored to have been "uncovered by a bereaved family and full of priceless masterpieces" (1). In the early 1940s, the art division of the Works Progress Administration, the WPA/FAP, was abruptly cancelled. The artists had been dismissed and "hundreds of these pieces were sold at four cents a pound to junkmen while the rest ended up on the sidewalk" (2). Even a prestigious auction house like Danielle's accepts art brought...