An Affair with Beauty — The Mystique of Howard Chandler Christy | The Magic of Youth

An Affair with Beauty by James Philip Head is an intriguing biography of Howard Chandler Christy, an artist whose popularity and time period were of fascination to all — especially to readers like myself. I found the descriptions and tellings of this artist vivid and entertaining. I felt like I was there experiencing everything that the known artist himself was doing or experiencing. Sights, sounds, and action. I haven’t heard of Howard Chandler Christy until I stumbled upon this great book. This much-looked-after artist created something that all wanted. Women wanted to be painted by this famous artist. The best part of this biography was that I found out interesting facts, such as Howard having painted more than eight hundred women. That surprised me. Talk about high numbers.

James Phillip Head brilliantly compiled this book into a way that introduced the American illustrator and portraitist. His life, work, and the way others saw the artist, was impressive. An Affair with Beauty made Howard Chandler Christy and his life three-dimensional. The “Christy Girl,” an image created by Howard, was one that was considered the most beautiful image. The artist was obsessed with beauty, in my opinion. He portrayed the beauty he found and focused on that. One of the comments that Howard Chandler Christy said has, and will forever, stick with me. He said, “…nothing in this world lasts forever….Nothing.” It’s true. Nothing does last forever in our world. I think this book was to show how one man captured the essence of beauty and life together because if it’s not captured now, it won’t be there later. I definitely enjoyed reading this biography and I highly recommend to readers everywhere.