Reproductions.com pays me to paint them, then sells the paintings online as ‘perfect replicas’ whose ‘provenance only an art historian can discern’ for ten times my price.
-- Claire (Chapter 1)

Importance: Early in the novel, Claire lays out her work and life. She is an artist struggling to make it on her own through her original paintings, but must paint reproductions of famous paintings in order to make a living. Because of this, she is shunned in the art world. It is why she is all the more surprised when Aiden Markel pays her a visit.

The end is good. It’s just the means that are a bit iffy.
-- Aiden Markel (Chapter 1)

Importance: Markel’s visit is brief and to the point. He offers Claire $50,000, plus expenses, and her own show at his gallery in return for her forging a painting. While he will not offer her any details because she has not signed on yet...