Curious, I decided to take a look at the 200,000-page archive Edith had donated to the Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian. It was her voice—a singular, brilliant, witty voice—that got me hooked. This was the same voice Edith had used to woo thousands of collectors, curators, and artists during her decades in business. Now she was wooing me.

The optimism expressed in Edith's notes and letters contrasted with the stories I later heard in dozens of interviews with those who knew Edith towards the end of her life. She was remembered as a paranoid and an alcoholic. As she grew increasingly ill, she became confused, secretive and vengeful. Edith Halpert knew that she had led a historically important life, yet her behavior in her later years helped push her into oblivion. Now, thirty-six years after her death, I hope to finally do her life justice.