Susan Joyce Vreeland (January 20, 1946 – August 23, 2017) was an American author. Several of her books deal with the relationship between

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

. ''The Passion of Artemisia'' is a fictionalized investigation of some aspects of the life of

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi Gentileschi ( ; ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished 17th century, 17th-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing professional ...

, while ''Girl in Hyacinth Blue'' centers round an imaginary

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

. ''The Forest Lover'' is a fictionalized account of the life of the Canadian painter Emily Carr.

Early life

Vreeland was born in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

to William Alex Vreeland and Esther Alberta, ''née'' Jancovius. Her mother was from an artistic family and had studied at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. The family moved to California in 1948. Vreeland took a BA in English and

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

in 1969, an MA in education in 1972, and an MA in English in 1978.

Works

The works of Susan Vreeland include: * ''What Love Sees: a biographical novel''. New York: PaperJacks, 1988. . * ''What English Teachers Want: A Survival Guide''. Unionville, NY: Royal Fireworks Press, 1995. . * ''Girl in Hyacinth Blue''. Denver: MacMurray & Beck, 1999. . * ''The Passion of Artemisia''. New York: Viking, 2002. . * ''The Forest Lover''. New York: Viking, 2004. . * ''Life Studies''. New York: Viking, 2005. . * ''Luncheon of the Boating Party''. New York: Viking, 2007. . * ''Clara and Mr. Tiffany''. New York: Random House, 2011. . * ''Lisette's List''. New York: Random House, 2014. .

References

1946 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American fiction writers American women novelists San Diego State University alumni Writers from Racine, Wisconsin Writers from San Diego Novelists from Wisconsin {{US-novelist-1940s-stub