The title of this series of paintings is, of course, a playful reference to the title of Proust's famous series of novels. In this first work in the series, I sought not only to find the missing brushstroke, but also to incorporate elements of all seven of Proust's novels (the first of the painting's eight panels serves as the title page.) To enrich the connections to Proust's masterpiece, and tin an attempt deepen my connection with french culture, I commenced a careful reading of all seven of the novels. Sadly, at that time, I was rather overwhelmed and disgusted by the attempts of the French tax authorities to overcharge me with a series of deceitful fabrications. I was so disillusioned with France that I abandoned the research and inserted a vignette of the Limoux tax office into the panel depicting "Sodom and Gomorrah." Amongst the half-hidden texts in the painting, I added the total of the tax demands, and I remain adamant that this will be the painting's exact price.