Masterpiece Read online

  Marvin beamed up at him.

  A great friendship was like a great work of art, he thought. It took time and attention, and a spark of something that was impossible to describe. It was a happy, lucky accident, finding some kindred part of yourself in a total stranger.

  There was a knock on the door, and Marvin heard Karl’s voice.

  “I have to go now,” James told him, setting him gently on the desk. “Dad’s here. But I’ll see you tomorrow. Or I’ll check for the X behind the wastebasket!”

  He got his jacket from the closet and waved at Marvin. “Bye, little guy.”

  Marvin lifted one of his legs and waved it in response.

  When the room was empty, he crawled to the edge of the desk and looked out the window. He thought of all the things he and James could do together when spring came. They could take long walks. They could go to the park. They could visit the Met with Karl and Christina, and then Marvin could come back to his little studio and make pictures of his own.

  Marvin smiled to himself. There was a whole wide world waiting to be explored, and there was nobody he’d rather do it with than James.

  —AUTHOR’S NOTE —

  ABOUT THE ART

  In this story, all of the background information about Albrecht Dürer and his contemporaries is true, but Dürer’s four Virtue drawings are purely a figment of my imagination. Dürer did complete several miniature drawings, in ink, with the level of detail described here. He was also a long-standing admirer of the Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Bellini, who did a miniature drawing Fortitude (the girl wrestling the lion), which is indeed held by the J. Paul Getty Museum in California and is described in this story. It is reproduced below.

  Giovanni Bellini, Fortitude, about 1470 Pen and brown ink, approximately 3.5 inches square Courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

  ABOUT THE THEFT

  Except for the thefts of my fictional Virtue drawings, all of the art heists described in the book really happened, and there is a special FBI unit focused on the recovery of stolen art. However, for understandable reasons, art museums and law-enforcement agencies are very reluctant to share information about their security practices. The details in this story concerning the theft of Fortitude from the Met and the FBI procedures involved are purely fictional.

  ABOUT THE BEETLES

  Marvin and his family are intended to be a kind of ground beetle, of which there are more than two thousand varieties. Their life span can be as long as three or four years, and though they generally live outdoors, they sometimes wander indoors and remain. Most species don’t fly. They eat a variety of foods and tend to be more active at night.

  Dürer, Stag Beetle, 1505 Courtesy J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

  —ACKNOWLEDGMENTS —

  In a book about friendship, it is a particular pleasure to thank the following people who are such an important part of my life: my editor, Christy Ottaviano, whose careful eye and thoughtful insights have immeasurably improved my work; my sister, Mary Broach, who has a gift for responding to a manuscript as a parent, former kid, and critic simultaneously; and my enormously talented, far-flung group of readers, who are also wonderful friends—Jane Burns, Claire Carlson, Laura Forte, Jane Kamensky, Jill Lepore, and Carol Sheriff. I am very lucky to have them.

  I am also grateful to several young readers and listeners—Jane and Margaret Urheim, and Gideon and Simon Leek—for their helpful reactions to a draft of this book. Special thanks to Caroline Meckler for sharing her knowledge of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and to the staff at Holt for doing such a fine job of ushering my books into the world.

  Finally, a big and endless thank-you to my family—my husband, Ward Wheeler, and my children, Zoe, Harry, and Grace—for their flexibility, enthusiasm, and support. Years ago at a Chinese restaurant, the fortune in my fortune cookie read: “Your family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” I believe it.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE ILLUSTRATOR

  Elise Broach is the author of the acclaimed novels Shakespeare’s Secret and Desert Crossing. The idea for Masterpiece started when she lost a contact lens down the bathroom sink. She sat on the tile floor for an hour trying to get the pipe loose to no avail and fantasized about how wonderful it would be if a tiny creature could go fetch it. She wrote the first few chapters of the story that night and then didn’t return to it for twenty years. Elise holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Yale University. She lives with her family in Easton, Connecticut.

  www.elisebroach.com

  Kelly Murphy has illustrated many books for children including Hush, Little Dragon. She lives in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.

  www.kelmurphy.com