Caffrey Conversation: Backdrop to Progress of Love

A series of paintings called The Progress of Love by the Rococo artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard was the inspiration for my latest Caffrey Conversation story. Finding a slot for it in Neal's timeline was straightforward since the theme of the paintings called out for a Valentine's Day story. Devising the plot was more complicated. My initial thought was to feature an attempted heist, but the size of the panels made me reconsider. Even for someone as gifted as Neal Caffrey, stealing a 10-foot tall painting would be quite a feat!

The panels are housed in a gallery specially designed for them at the Frick Collection in New York City. I'd mentioned the Frick before in stories but hadn't included a scene there. The museum has a well-deserved international reputation for its many old masters set in galleries alongside furniture collections in a historic Neoclassical mansion. When I perused the works for an alternative heist target, one painting in particular caught my eye. Vermeer's Girl Interrupted at Her Music includes Cupid and so is appropriate for a Valentine's Day story. The painting has been damaged over the centuries by heavy-handed restoration efforts. My heart went out to it, and I thought Neal's would too. The fact that the criminal brothers Rolf and Klaus Mansfeld have been closely associated with Vermeer is a plus.

The romance between Neal and Sara is not the only one included in this tale. For some, love has progressed to a different stage. For others, it's sputtering at the starting gate. Pitfalls and hazards abound.

About the paintings:

• The Fragonard Room at the Frick
• Analysis of the Progress of Love series
• Vermeer Interrupted on the Art Watch International website
• Analysis of Girl Interrupted at her Music on the Essential Vermeer website

Progress of Love on Archive of Our Own
Progress of Love on FanFiction