Summary

Chapter 43 consists of a letter from Thomas Scott to Julien, his lover in New Orleans. Scott, who has joined the Union Army, updates Julien on the war. He admits he is “sick and tired of this carnage” (317) and looks forward to the South’s defeat.

Martha brings Annie’s painting to the philanthropist Paul Mellon. Because several of Mellon’s horses are descendants of Lexington, she imagines he “would be tempted by a portrait of their great progenitor” (321). She leaves the painting with Mellon, but after hearing nothing from him for several weeks, demands the portrait’s return. She sells her convertible to Jackson Pollock (who will eventually die while drunk driving the car) in order to raise the funds to purchase Annie’s painting for herself. Martha admits that she has formed “a sentimental attachment” (322) to the portrait. After hanging the painting...