The Woman with Fifty Faces: Maria Lani & the Greatest Art Heist That Never Was

Journalist Lackman and artist Pinson debut with a beguiling biography of Maria Lani (1895–1954), who managed to con her way into fame if not fortune in 1930s Europe. Born Maria Geleniewicz in a deeply antisemitic region of Poland, she lives through the gradual demise of her family due to pogroms, violence, bankruptcy, and other calamities. When she meets career con man Max Abramowicz, the pair scheme to exploit Maria’s natural charm and beauty, attempting to woo German director Max Reinhardt into making her a star. The plan fails, but in 1928 they travel to Paris claiming she’s a rising actor, where artist Jean Cocteau falls under Maria’s spell and has her sit for him. With Cocteau’s help she poses for 50 portraits by legendary artists like Bonnard, Chagall, Matisse, and Soutine. Subsequently, “all of Paris develop[s] Maria-mania,” and a group show of the portraits becomes a gallery sensation. Abramowicz hatches a scheme to steal the art, but as Paris falls to the Nazis, Lani’s fortunes fall precipitously. Lackman’s elegiac narrative pairs beautifully with Pinson’s heavily crosshatched drawings, which twist into grotesquery in scenes of bigotry and bloodshed. This tale of ambition, art, and deception sheds light on a fascinating figure and her era. (June)