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The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden
Richard Carreño
Camino Books, Inc.
9781680980608 $35.00 Hardcover
https://www.caminobooks.com/
Richard Carreño’s biography of Philadelphia art collector John H.
McFadden, John McFadden and his Age, provided a wealth of information
applicable to art history in general and Philadelphia history in particular.
McFadden himself provides the introduction to Carreño’s latest foray into
biographical history, The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden. This book
serves as a fitting companion volume, examining John’s Uncle George’s life
of intrigue, mystery, adventure, and Philadelphia connections.
This is not to say that either book should be limited to Pennsylvania readers
and collections—not by a long shot. Indeed, especially in The Inventive Life
of George H. McFadden, the value lies in Carreño’s ability to present contrasts
in intellectual drive, psychological melancholy and isolation, closet homosexuality,
and life contributions in such a manner that invites attention and inspection
by audiences immersed in life stories and intellectual pursuits alike … not just
Pennsylvanians or art students.
George H. McFadden stood out from the proper Philadelphian in many ways.
His different relationships and personas in disparate cultural groups, his shifting
approach to “finding ancient things” that led him to sailing and travel experiences
(and, ultimately, to a mysterious death), and his literary prowess all come to
light in a revealing examination of a Renaissance Man whose intellectual pursuits
were anything but ordinary.
From his draw to Cyprus (his adopted homeland) to his amateur archaeological pursuits, participation in war, and often-clever political maneuvers to find ways out of socially challenging situations, McFadden’s life is narrated with the dual atmosphere of intellectual examination and adventure story:
For a man of forty-one, the timing smacked of desperation. His aspiration was equally disquieting. His twenty-year career in Cyprus had been shadowed by war and mired in his own complacency and vainglory. His way out modeled the successful career arcs of Daniel and Young—as eminent archaeologists and museum curators. McFadden was a formidable applicant. He was fluent in French, German, and in modern Greek. He had a learned reading ability in Latin and ancient Greek. His work as a Penn Museum “research fellow” at Kourion, as a Navy veteran, and as the author of entries to professional and academic publications—not to mention his translation of the Iliad—were additional pluses.
The result reveals a life worthy of discourse and discovery, and is very highly recommended for libraries interested in riveting tales of lives vividly and powerfully lived.
The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden