Ellie Masters Author @Ellie__Masters

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Art Forgery 101 Aging Techniques ART FORGERY 101: How do forgers make new paintings look centuries old? The techniques would surprise you. In THE STARLING, our protagonist has mastered these methods: • Baking canvases elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling: Weekly Art Mystery The Mystery of The Lovers: The Poet's Garden IV In the romantic suspense novel, THE STARLING by Ellie Masters, a mysterious Van Gogh painting called 'The Lovers: The Poet's Garden IV' is central to our story, but did you elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Famous Art Heists The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist In the early hours of March 18, 1990, two men disguised as police officers entered Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tied up the guards, and spent 81 elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Settings: Château on Lake Geneva SETTINGS OF THE STARLING: The mysterious auction house where art and danger meet was inspired by the magnificent châteaux dotting the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman). 'Across the lake, a elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Art Forgery 101: The Perfect Crime? ART FORGERY 101: Art forgery is sometimes called the 'perfect crime' because the evidence is itself beautiful—and owners may prefer not knowing they've been duped! 'He stole from the elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Painting Inspirations: Van Gogh's Self-Portrait INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STARLING: Van Gogh's self-portraits inspired the chapters exploring the Starling's identity—how much of himself does he put into his forgeries? 'In elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Settings: The Musée d'Orsay SETTINGS OF THE STARLING: The magnificent Musée d'Orsay in Paris—a former railway station converted into an art museum—becomes the scene of a daring deception. 'On the left bank of the Seine, elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Famous Art Heists: The 2002 Van Gogh Museum Heist FAMOUS ART HEISTS: On December 7, 2002, thieves broke into Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum using nothing but a ladder and a sledgehammer. In just three minutes, they stole two elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling: Weekly Art Mystery: The Murmurations Mystery ART MYSTERY: In THE STARLING, flocks of birds have special significance—both beautiful and ominous. Throughout art history, birds have symbolized everything from freedom to deception. A elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Art Forgery 101: X-Ray Analysis ART FORGERY 101: Today's museums use X-rays to detect paintings hidden beneath the surface—revealing both artists' changes and forgers' techniques. 'One of the uses of X-ray analysis is to elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Painting Inspirations: Picasso's The Old Guitarist INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STARLING: Picasso's 'The Old Guitarist' inspired the scenes of Paul's studio in Montmartre—a place of creative genius and hidden secrets. 'I find elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Famous Art Heists: The Musée d'Orsay Connection FAMOUS ART HEISTS: A central event in THE STARLING involves a theft from the magnificent Musée d'Orsay in Paris—where impressionist masterpieces worth billions line the walls. elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling: Weekly Art Mystery: The Swan Ruby This antique ruby with a swan inclusion plays a pivotal role in THE STARLING—a beautiful piece with a dark history. Did you know jewelry forgery is almost as lucrative as art forgery? The market for elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Settings: The Metropolitan Museum of Art SETTINGS OF THE STARLING: New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art provides the dramatic opening setting of THE STARLING—where Vivianne and Paul first meet, surrounded by priceless elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Painting Inspirations: Nude Art and Creative Inspiration INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STARLING: The long tradition of nude art inspired Chapter 40, where Paul sketches Vivianne by firelight, beginning their passionate artistic elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Art Forgery 101: Provenance Papers ART FORGERY 101: The 'biography' of an artwork's ownership history is called provenance—and forgers often create elaborate fake documentation. In THE STARLING, establishing a painting's elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Famous Art Heists: The Mona Lisa Theft FAMOUS ART HEISTS: On August 21, 1911, the unthinkable happened—the world's most famous painting simply vanished. Vincenzo Peruggia, a former Louvre employee, hid in a closet elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling: Weekly Art Mystery: The Hidden Starling Forgers often leave subtle signatures in their work—hidden clues to their true identity. In THE STARLING, our mysterious art forger hides tiny birds within his masterpieces. Real-life forgers have elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Settings: Montmartre SETTINGS OF THE STARLING: Once home to Van Gogh, Picasso, and Modigliani, the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre provides the backdrop for Paul's studio. 'I wander the streets of Montmartre, a large elliemasters.com/thestarling

The Starling, by Ellie Masters: Settings: Montmartre SETTINGS OF THE STARLING: Once home to Van Gogh, Picasso, and Modigliani, the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre provides the backdrop for Paul's studio. 'I wander the streets of Montmartre, a large elliemasters.com/thestarling