Speck's Idea by Mavis Gallant
"Speck's Idea" by Mavis Gallant revolves around Sandor Speck, an art dealer in Paris, as he prepares for a proposed art show. Set against the backdrop of a rainy evening in the Faubourg Saint-Germain neighborhood, Speck reflects on his conservative surroundings while dining alone. He aims to revive interest in a lesser-known French painter from the past, believing this artist could be the centerpiece of his upcoming exhibition. As he navigates the art world, he encounters challenges, particularly with the widow of the artist, Lydia Cruche, who is hesitant to allow him access to her late husband's works due to her adherence to a sect's beliefs against graven images.
The narrative explores themes of ambition, competition, and the complexities of the art market, particularly as Speck learns that another dealer is also pursuing a show featuring Cruche's work. Lydia's shifting stance reveals the intricate dynamics of negotiation and the impact of personal motivations in the art world. Ultimately, the story captures Speck's journey of realization and adaptation as he confronts the realities of his professional aspirations. The interactions between characters highlight the interplay of art, commerce, and personal values, providing a nuanced look at the challenges faced by those within the creative industry.
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Speck's Idea by Mavis Gallant
First published: 1979
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: The 1970's
Locale: Paris
Principal Characters:
Sandor Speck , a Parisian art dealerLydia Cruche , the widow of painter Hubert CrucheSenator Antoine Bellefeuille , an art collector who owns a collection of Cruche paintingsSignor Vigorelli , a rival art dealer from Milan
The Story
As the story opens, Sandor Speck is locking up his art gallery in the Faubourg Saint-Germain neighborhood of Paris. He contemplates his respectable and conservative neighborhood and reflects on the melancholy rainy evening. Speck sits down to his solitary, simple dinner in a neighborhood restaurant and takes out his yellow pad and pencils. He begins to plan his May-June show. Paris art critics are hinting that the time has come, but for what? Speck believes he has the answer, a French painter, who lived from about 1864 to 1949, mostly forgotten, someone whom Speck can reintroduce to the art world. Speck is at work writing the artist's biography and a commentary on his work, envisioning the show. He is stuck, however, on the identity of the artist for his show.
Speck moves on to his meeting of the Masons. At the lodge, he rubs shoulders with the bankers, ambassadors, and politicians who are wealthy potential art buyers. On the sidewalk outside, he overhears Senator Antoine Bellefeuille speaking about the beautiful wife of the artist Hubert Cruche. Speck remembers that the wealthy senator has a house full of the paintings of Cruche. There is the answer to Speck's quest. Cruche overlaps to an astonishing degree with the painter in the yellow notebook and is just the sort of respectable, minor Parisian artist for whom Speck is looking.
Speck has a knack with artists' widows; he is tactful, courtly, and a good listener. A week later, Speck is sitting in the home of Lydia Cruche. He proposes a major Cruche retrospective, "just an idea of mine." He needs the widow's cooperation, for she is the owner of a studio full of her deceased husband's paintings.
Lydia proves difficult and elusive. She is willing to let Speck see the paintings, but she will not let him have them for the show. She reveals that she belongs to an obscure sect, the Japhethites, and believes that there is a commandment forbidding graven images. Speck is crushed. Business and the economy are in a decline. He badly wants and needs this show. He has already spoken to Senator Bellefeuille, who has shown Speck his personal collection of Cruches and agreed to sign the catalogue notes that Speck has ghostwritten, lending the prestige and status of his name and connections to the show.
Lydia Cruche appears to change her mind, and Speck goes back to her villa in the suburbs with paperwork in his briefcase, ready to negotiate an agreement with her. He finds a guest in her house, Signor Vigorelli of Milan. Lydia is now cordial and cooperative, helpful with details for the catalogue. However, Speck is crushed while driving home from the widow's house. He hears Signor Vigorelli on the car radio, discussing the rediscovery of Hubert Cruche!
Speck makes a U-turn, crashes his car into a tree, and begins to walk back to Lydia Cruche's house. She calmly admits that Signor Vigorelli, with her cooperation, is organizing a big Cruche show in Milan in March. Speck protests in dismay: Cruche is his idea. He insists that he must have the show first. Utterly defeated, he trudges to the bus stop to make his way home.
In another sudden reversal, Lydia appears at the bus stop and offers to let Speck be the first to hold a show. Milan is better for money, she says, but we are not talking about money, are we? Speck is confused but recovers quickly. Lydia has a talent for money, he realizes, and he is no match for her. His mind clears, "a yellow notebook fluttered and lay open at a new page." The show will likely go to Milan in the autumn now, he thinks. He begins to write a new note for his exhibit catalogue. Cruche will travel with Speck's blessing. He will sign this note himself. Cruche will cross borders and so will Sandor Speck.
Bibliography
Canadian Fiction Magazine 28 (1978). Special issue on Mavis Gallant.
Essays in Canadian Writing 42 (Winter, 1990). Special issue on Mavis Gallant.
Gadpaille, Michelle. "Mavis Gallant." In The Canadian Short Story. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Grant, Judith Skleton. "Mavis Gallant." In Canadian Writers and Their Works, edited by Robert Lecker, Jack David, and Ellen Quigley. Toronto: ECW Press, 1989.
Keith, William John. "Mavis Gallant." In A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada. Toronto: ECW Press, 1988.
Kulyk Keefer, Janice. Reading Mavis Gallant. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Schaub, Danielle. Mavis Gallant. New York: Twayne, 1998.
Simmons, Diane. "Remittance Men: Exile and Identity in the Short Stories of Mavis Gallant." In Canadian Women Writing Fiction, edited by Mickey Pearlman. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1993.
Smythe, Karen. Gallant, Munro, and the Poetics of Elegy. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1992.