Searching For Amalia
The series will focus on the "missing history" of the Gilded Age artist, Amalia Kussner. It will be a search for her many miniatures of famous people that never made it to museums. Also mysteries about her life, such as the hidden details 1901 lawsuit.
Searching For Amalia
Art and History Mysteries with Andreane Rellou
Andreane Rellou, with her expertise in both fashion and history, was able to identify two women in Fabergé frames at a British museum. We will discuss her various techniques - that hint at sophisticated forensics approach used outside of the art world. One of the women she identified - turned out to be a relative by marriage to one of the royal women (a Russian duchess) painted by Amalia Kussner. I have included Andreane's story as part of the Searching for Amalia series to highlight the types of research we both do and possibly look at a joint effort in the future.
Andreane is a digital content creator, filmmaker, and historical sleuth based in London, UK. She holds degrees from the Universities of Essex and York, and has a decade's worth of experience in the film industry. In 2024 she went viral on social media for her detective work when she solved a 120-year-old Fabergé mystery at Brighton Museum. Since then, she has collaborated with historians, curators, and institutions (including Bonhams, William Morris Gallery, and the V&A) to lend her unique talents.
Through her love of research and great passion for history, Andreane came to create 'The Three Graces' (2026), a short film inspired by the lives of three forgotten female Pre-Raphaelite artists: Marie Spartali Stillman, Maria Zambaco, and Aglaia Coronio. For more info - Link Here.
As she works to develop this into a long-form TV series, she is involved in the pre-production of numerous other projects, and also co-runs the Wine Dark Short Film Festival. Her discoveries can often be found on her TikTok account: @AndreaneOfTheIsland .
There were at least two articles published about her discoveries:
Smithsonian Magazine - Amateur Sleuth Identifies the Mystery Women in a Museum's Fabergé Frames (link here)
ArtNet - Amateur Sleuth Solves Mystery Behind U.K. Museum's Fabergé Frames (link here).
For information on my Amalia Kussner biography - please checkout my book website (www.kathleenlangone.com) and use Contact page to connect with me.
Kathleen's social media: Instagram, Threads, BlueSky and X: @phihpod. Facebook: Kathleen Langone Author.