Modern Painting

To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family's remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than 20 years, she was host to and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the 20th century.

Rome, 1955. The artists gather for a picture at a party in an ancient villa. Bear Bavinsky, creator of vast canvases, larger than life, is at the center of the picture. His wife, Natalie, edges out of the shot. From the side of the room watches little Pinch - their son. At five years old he loves Bear almost as much as he fears him. After Bear abandons their family, Pinch will still worship him, striving to live up to the Bavinsky name.

Curators at the infamous Billamore Hall Museum and Art Gallery are being mysteriously murdered, and now no one will accept the job...except Sandra Peterson. The cozy Massachusetts town of Billamore has been home to the infamous Hall for over 200 years. Renowned for its rare and somewhat macabre collections, being curator there has been a life-long dream for the intelligent, level-headed Sandra. Unlike her best friend, Josephine, who believes in the existence of all things unseen and supernatural, Sandra refuses to be scared off by ghost stories and strange circumstances.