Name: Restless Ambition
ISBN: 9780199394500

Cathy Curtis (Writer on art)

The first biography of Grace Hartigan (1922-2008) traces her rise from self-taught painter to art-world fame in New York, her plunge into obscurity after moving to Baltimore, her constant efforts at artistic reinvention, and her tumultuous personal life, including four troubled marriages and a chilly relationship with her only child.

Grace Hartigan, Painter

Restless Ambition

Briar's Reviews

Restless Ambition: Grace Hartigan, Painter


This novel took me a VERY long time to finish - partially because it's long, and partially because it didn't draw me in. I love a good biography, but this book didn't do it for me as much as I would have thought it would. That being said, it was well written and it's a great read for those who like non-fiction.

Following a painter in the 1950s is the main path of this book. Grace's life definitely deserved a book - the ups and down this woman goes through it more interesting than most soap operas. Her marriages and her motherhood are two of the more interesting parts of this novel, alongside knowing she was a female painter in the 1950s (which seems like it would be harder than today - there was no social media to show off your skill back then. You had to work hard to get noticed!).

This book is informational and seems like it was highly researched. I appreciate a biography that sounds more than someone who watched a couple YouTube videos and figured they could write a story about the person. It seems like the type of novel I would have loved in my art classes in high school - it's researched and has incredible information I could have used for an essay or two. And considering I didn't know anything about this author (or knew she existed) before reading this novel I was thoroughly impressed.

Overall, this was a great book. I definitely suggest it to those who enjoy non-fiction books and biographies.

Three out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Giovanni Garcia-Fenech 

Enjoyable enough, but could use some editing. At one point the author names green as one of the three primary colors (!!!), and at another she places Goya in the late 17th century (she's off by one century), which casts a little doubt on the rest of the book.

Restless Ambition Grace Hartigan, Painter

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