Chapter 20
20
NEW YORK, 1963
‘I’ll take it.’ Allegra looked around the tiny apartment, the kitchen so narrow you could only get one person in it at a time and a bedroom that barely fitted an actual bed in it. She couldn’t have been happier. It was hers – at least, she was able to pay the rent on it herself – and as much as Val and Robert had tried to persuade her to stay, she knew it was time to get her own place.
It had been almost a year since Allegra had first started working at the gallery and, after receiving the devastating letter from Etienne, she’d thrown every part of herself into her job. It seemed like the best way to deal with her heartbreak. She was learning so much from Val about the ever-changing art world and not long after their ground-breaking sculpture exhibition, they’d secured one of the most famous pop artists of the day to exhibit at the gallery. Predictably, this led to more artists and collectors knocking on their door and by the end of the year barely a week had gone by without a glowing write-up in a newspaper or magazine about the gallery and the woman behind it.
Behind the scenes Allegra was doing more of the day to day running and adored dealing with the artists but much as she loved what was happening in the world of pop art, her heart belonged to a more classical, Impressionist style. She didn’t care if it was unfashionable; to her it was eloquent, not to mention breathtakingly beautiful to look at.
Standing in what was about to become her first apartment on Washington Street on the Lower West Side, in an old red-brick two-storey building on the floor above a dry-cleaning business, Allegra shook hands with the landlord and handed over a month’s rent. It was a ten-minute walk further south from Val and Robert’s house (they certainly weren’t keen on the idea of Allegra walking down Greenwich Street on her own at night) but with the money she was earning she could afford to take a cab after dark.
The following week, she moved in with her few belongings and set about making it feel like home. Val had insisted on giving her some bedding and Robert had brought round a box of books, insisting it wasn’t a home without books no matter how big or small the space. The floor was split into two apartments, and even though she was told she had a neighbour, it would be almost a week before they met.
One morning, Allegra had been woken by the sound of banging. She lay in her bed, trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from and what was making it. She looked at the small alarm clock by her bed, the faintly illuminated hands telling her it was just after five o’clock. She listened again, deciding the noise wasn’t coming from downstairs as she’d first suspected, but from her next-door neighbour. Allegra reluctantly got out of bed and threw a jumper on over her pyjamas, then opened her door to knock on the one opposite. At first, she knocked gently but there was no response. The banging continued, not so much as pausing at her attempt to get their attention. Allegra knocked again, this time more loudly. Still, nothing. On the third attempt, she continued knocking until the banging sound behind the door stopped. She waited for whoever was there to come and answer it, but no one came. She knocked again, explaining that she was their new neighbour and maybe they hadn’t realised she was there but if they could just keep the noise down for an hour or so, she’d be grateful. Allegra put her ear to the door, hoping for some indication that she’d been heard.
‘Okay, thank you, I’m going back to bed now.’ She went to go back into her apartment, then turned back to speak through the closed door. ‘Hope to meet you soon, maybe not quite so early though.’ She was about to tell them her name, then thought better of it given she had no idea who this person might be.
The same thing happened the following morning, and the next and the next until, not knowing what else to do, she decided she had no option but to lie in wait for them to leave or come back to the apartment and confront them about the noise. One evening, having had dinner with Val along with an upcoming artist she was hoping to represent, at a new French restaurant that had just opened not far from the gallery, Allegra arrived back at the apartment. Noticing the lights in the apartment next to hers were off, she took up her position on the steps of the building opposite and waited in the shadows.
It was still cold at night in the city and despite being suitably wrapped up to keep out the chill, after an hour she was ready to give up. But just as she went to cross the road, a figure appeared around the corner wearing a hooded coat and carrying a large piece of wood under their arm, dragging a broken chair with their other hand. Allegra watched as the figure rummaged for their keys, then went inside, leaving the piece of wood propped against the wall whilst they carried the chair inside.
Once Allegra saw the light come on upstairs, she crossed the road and went inside the door, waiting at the bottom of the stairs for whoever it was to come back down. She heard their footsteps and braced herself for a confrontation. When she saw the face beneath the hood, she was surprised to see it was a woman standing there.
‘Can I help you?’ said the stranger.
Allegra smiled awkwardly. ‘Hello, I’m your neighbour. I’ve been knocking on your door for the last week asking if you could be quiet.’
The woman stared at her, then removed her hood. She had long dark hair and her skin was pale. ‘I’m so sorry. I really didn’t hear you.’
‘Are you serious? I almost broke your door down!’
The woman started to make her way down the stairs. ‘When I am working, I don’t hear a thing.’
‘Working? What are you doing at that time in the morning? And what’s with the wood?’
‘I make sculptures from anything I can get my hands on really.’
Allegra’s interest was immediately piqued. ‘You do? What kind of thing?’
‘If you help me get that piece of wood up the stairs, I can show you.’ The woman looked at Allegra, her face impassive.
‘Sure,’ said Allegra, intrigued. ‘I guess this is why you’re out at night finding materials?’
The woman didn’t answer, instead extending her hand to Allegra. ‘Pleased to meet you. My name is Eve.’
‘Eve,’ said Allegra, taking her hand. ‘Nice to meet you too. I’m Allegra.’
With some careful manoeuvring they managed to get the long piece of timber around the corner at the top of the narrow staircase without too much trouble. Eve opened her door, apologising for the mess as she did so. ‘I’m hoping to get some proper studio space soon.’
Allegra looked around the room, the layout of the small apartment the same as hers but this one had no furniture at all. Instead, every bit of space was taken up with various objects. It looked like a junk shop save for one thing. In the middle of the room was a plinth, standing like an island in the chaos. On it was a sculpture, the distorted figure of a woman curled in a ball, made from wood, metal and coloured glass. It was, Allegra thought, one of the most extraordinary sculptures she’d ever seen.
She stared it at for a moment. ‘Can I take a look?’
Eve nodded.
Allegra picked her away around the random objects on the floor and circled the sculpture, marvelling at the way the artist had created movement from the still materials. ‘What was your inspiration?’
‘I wanted to create something beautiful from the mundane.’ Eve shrugged her shoulders.
‘It’s astonishing,’ whispered Allegra. ‘Seriously, I’ve never seen anything like it. Where did you train?’
Eve looked at her blankly.
‘I mean, who taught you how to do this?’
‘No one. I taught myself.’
Allegra peered closely at a piece of carved wood so black it looked charred. ‘How did you get that colour?’
‘It’s a particular pigment. I like working with it at the moment.’
‘Do you have any more finished pieces?’ Allegra looked around.
‘Yes, at another studio not far from here but like I said, I need to get my own space.’
‘Can I see it?’
Eve looked at her neighbour suspiciously.
Allegra suddenly realised she was asking too many questions without context. ‘I’m sorry, I should have said. I work in a gallery on the Upper East Side.’
Eve’s eyes widened. ‘The one on East 74th?’
‘Yes, that’s the one. You know it?’
‘It had the Marisol sculpture exhibition last year.’
Allegra smiled. ‘Yes, that’s the one. Did you see it?’
‘Of course,’ said Eve. ‘She’s such an inspiration. So, you work for Valentina?’
‘I do,’ said Allegra. ‘She’s been very good to me. The first time she met me I’d just run away from home. Well, I’d only gone two blocks, but I knew I didn’t want to go back. She gave me a job and now I’m here.’
‘With a horribly noisy neighbour.’ Eve grimaced.
‘Yes, but now I know why.’
‘I’ll try and keep it down from now on.’
Allegra looked around the room again. ‘I don’t know how you create anything in this space. You’re right, you do need your own studio.’
‘One day, maybe.’
‘I really want Val to see what you’re doing here. Can we have a look at some of your other work?’
‘Sure,’ said Eve. ‘But female artists are hardly in demand right now.’
‘Val put on the show you came to and that opened the door to Indiana and Warhol.’
‘You’ve met Warhol?’
Allegra nodded. ‘I have. Only very briefly and he didn’t say much. He’s always watching, observing those around him. It’s a bit unsettling, to be honest.’
‘And what was Marisol like?’
‘Enigmatic,’ said Allegra. ‘And very beautiful. Listen, I’ve got a bottle of wine that Val and Robert gave me when I moved in but they refused to let me open it with them. Do you fancy sharing it?’
As they sat on the floor of the corridor between the two flats, sipping warm white wine from the bottle and talking about everything from art to heartbreak, they both found the friend they needed, just when they needed them.
* * *
Val was already in the gallery, sitting behind the desk with her glasses on her nose as she looked through the daily newspaper, when Allegra walked through the door. ‘Someone had a late night,’ she said, without even looking up.
‘How do you know?’ asked Allegra, shaking herself out of her coat.
‘Because I think this might be the first time since you’ve worked here that you’re in after me,’ said Val. ‘Were you out? I’m hoping so.’
‘No, I just met my neighbour and you will never guess what…’
‘Don’t tell me, she’s an artist.’ Val looked up at Allegra over her glasses.
‘How did you know?’
‘Because they’re all in that part of town now. It makes the West Village look hideously bourgeois.’ Val laughed at her own observation.
‘She is but, Val, she’s really good. She’s called Eve, she’s a sculptor.’
Val looked up. ‘Really?’
‘She’s mostly working in her apartment now because she has so little space in the studio she’s renting. I’ve only seen the piece she’s got in her flat, but she’s got some other finished – or almost finished – pieces in the studio. Honestly, Val, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s incredible.’
Val closed the paper on the table. ‘Don’t bother taking your coat off.’
‘Why? Where are we going?’
‘To see her now before anyone else gets to her. Come on.’ Val stood up and pulled her long grey cape around her shoulders, fastening it at the neck.
‘But… what if you don’t think it’s very good?’
‘Honey, I know you well enough to realise that you have an instinct for art. Not everyone does, even if they think they do. Ready? Let’s go.’
They made their way downtown in a yellow cab via 5th and then 9th Avenue, sitting in gridlocked traffic for much of it.
‘We could have gone later, on our way home,’ said Allegra, looking up at the billboards as they passed through Times Square, the smell of car smoke and candy apples in the air.
Val blew the smoke from her cigarette out of through the gap at the top of the cab’s slightly open window. ‘I’ve missed out on too many artists by waiting. If you want the good ones, you must go to them as soon as you can. I’d like to see her work, talk to her about it and see what she says.’
By the time they got to Allegra’s building it was almost eleven o’clock. Allegra went up the stairs first, followed by Val. She knocked on the door. ‘Eve, it’s me, Allegra.’
‘One second,’ called Eve. The door opened slowly. She looked at Allegra, then Valentina. Her face registered her shock as soon as she realised who it was. To Allegra’s surprise, Eve promptly shut the door again.
‘I told Val about your work. She really wants to see it,’ said Allegra, through the door.
Eve’s muffled voice came from the other side. ‘Is this some kind of joke? If so, it’s not funny.’
‘Of course it’s not. Why would I do that?’ Allegra looked at Val as they waited for an answer.
Val signalled to Allegra to let her speak. ‘Eve, this is Valentina. I’m sorry to turn up unannounced like this but I really wanted to come and see you. Allegra told me about you this morning. If you’d rather I didn’t see your work yet that’s obviously up to you but maybe we can just have a conversation? We could go and get some coffee, or lunch if you haven’t eaten.’
The door opened slowly, Eve’s face appearing round it. ‘Remember I haven’t finished this one.’ She beckoned them in.
Allegra waited as Val walked ahead, stepping carefully across the object-strewn floor. When she got to the sculpture in the middle of the room, Val turned to Eve. ‘May I?’
Eve nodded and Val walked slowly round it, taking in every detail. She then took a step back and stood looking at it for a while longer. ‘I love how you’ve done that,’ said Val, pointing at the figure’s hands, interlocked over her face. ‘And this here,’ she said, ‘using the glass to reflect the light like that.’ On she went, telling Eve her thoughts about the sculpture in front of her. Finally, she turned to the artist. ‘I’d love to know what inspired you to create this.’
Allegra looked at Eve’s face, waiting for her to speak. She almost didn’t dare breathe.
‘I’m not sure I even know. I just create what I’m feeling,’ said Eve, as casually as she might order a coffee.
Val let out a sigh of relief. ‘That’s exactly what I was hoping you would say. Now, I know you need to get your other work out of your studio, Allegra told me on the way here. Can we help you move it to the gallery? I want to put on a show of your work.’
Eve gasped. ‘But you haven’t even seen it?’
‘I don’t need to,’ said Val. ‘This—’ she gestured to the piece in front of them ‘—tells me all I need to know at this point. You were right, Allegra. It really is incredible.’
Eve walked over to Val and shook her hand. ‘Thank you, I would love that.’
Three months later Eve’s show opened to great acclaim, selling almost every piece on the opening night. The exhibition cemented the gallery as the hottest in town and instead of having to charm the collectors, Val was having to fend them off. So, it caught Allegra completely off guard when Val announced, over martinis at The Carlyle, that she planned to retire.
‘But it’s going so well!’ Allegra couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Why would you give it all up now?’
‘I always said I would do this for as long as I loved it. And I do love it, so much.’ Val reached across the table and put her hand on Allegra’s. ‘But we’re not getting any younger. Robert and I want to travel, go to Europe. Maybe I’ll get to see all those paintings in Paris you’re always telling me about. We’ve lived in this city for almost our entire married life. I’m not leaving this place for the last time in a coffin.’
Allegra tried not to cry. ‘I’m happy for you, really I am. But I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.’
‘It’s funny you should say that because I have a plan. Waiter?’ Val called over to the barman. ‘Two more of those please. Vodka, dirty, three olives.’ She turned her attention back to Allegra. ‘Ready?’