A frustrated artist, in the absence of his muse, finds a series of discarded paintings and becomes an accidental author, detailing the rise of an envied, yet anonymous painter. Since its original publication, The Book of CLAV has gone on to become the defining account of La Belle Oublié (“The Beautiful Forgotten”) modern art movement that both captivated and shamed the fine art world of the 1990s.

Haunted by the paintings’ omnipresence,the artist-turned-diarist simultaneously documents the rise to fame of the erstwhile art-star known only as “CLAV,” as well as his own fall into existential despair.

The unnamed journal, mysteriously abandoned, is presented here alongside CLAV’s paintings, reprinted with permission by La Musée de la Belle Oblié. Together, they comprise a fable of human envy in the guise of a first-hand account of art’s affective power.

The book is the only historical account of a unique, if minor, art movement that characterized how art and artists are “made” and how hype and circumstance can define them throughout history.

"The story is manic and compelling, and the art puts shivers in your veins."

- Editor, Words Of Every Type