Celebrity, art merchant, socialite, publisher, and writer, Ambroise Vollard (1867-1939) was one of the most extraordinary figures in 20th-century art. He possessed an uncanny ability to recognize genius in painters -- dozens of important artists received valuable commissions and gallery space with his help, and his galleries presented the first one-man shows for such luminaries as Matisse, Cezanne, and Picasso. Vollard's warmth, candor, and intelligence earned him the friendship of a generation of artists and make this memoir an enthralling and often hilarious account of an exciting Golden...