Fugitive Colors: A Novel

This historical fiction novel explores the transition period of modern art in Europe as Hitler’s Third Reich came to power. The story focuses on the life of Julian Klein, an American painter who decides to pursue his passion for art in Paris when his religious upbringing becomes too stifling. When he arrives in Paris he meets Felix and Rene, two other painters who invite Julian to ditch the academic institution of painting and join them, but Julian comes to learn that the invitation to paint is also an invitation to become wrapped up in their rivalry. In a turn of events Julian and Rene, both Jewish painters, find themselves traveling to Berlin at a point in history when the Nazis are beginning their movement to destroy avant-garde art.

Well-written and engaging, Lisa Barr has provided a specific look into one area of the Nazi movement and how it affected the painters of that time. It was easy to sympathize with Julian as he watched the Nazi regime try to censor German Expressionism and label his network of painters and their works as Kunst, or degenerate. Follow Julian’s story as he discovers the perils of being a Jewish expressionist painter during World War II and just how far he will go to protect art, and his friends.