Helen A. Harrison's Art-World Murder Mystery Set at 1939 New York World's Fair

Helen A. Harrison, an art historian and the director of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, has released a crime novel titled 'A Fair Corpse.' Set against the backdrop of the 1939 New York World's Fair in Queens, the narrative centers on rookie patrolman Brian 'Fitz' Fitzgerald. He is drawn into a mystery involving suspicious injuries to WPA muralists and the murder of Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger, influenced by painter's assistant Elaine, who later becomes de Kooning. The book features fictionalized depictions of notable avant-garde artists such as Stuart Davis, Willem de Kooning, and Lee Krasner. Harrison combines her knowledge of Midcentury Modern art with crime noir, employing Erik Larson's historical techniques. Although Steven Heller, a co-author of 'Trylon and Perisphere: 1939 New York World's Fair,' praises the fair's accurate representation, he critiques the plot's implausibility. The novel is available on Amazon from an undisclosed publisher.