Question:

Murray, whose show of recent paintings and drawings is her best in many years, has been eminent hereabouts for a quarter century, although often regarded with BLANK, but the most BLANK of these paintings BLANK all doubts.
BLANK 1 Options: (A) partiality, (B) credulity, (C) ambivalence
BLANK 2 Options: (D) problematic, (E) successful, (F) disparaged
BLANK 3 Options: (G) exculpate, (H) assuage, (I) whet

Show Hint

For multi-blank questions, don't always solve in order. Sometimes the final blank, which describes the outcome, is the easiest to solve first. Here, figuring out that the paintings must remove ("assuage") doubts helps you work backward to find the other correct words.
Updated On: Oct 1, 2025
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Solution and Explanation

Correct Answer: (C) ambivalence, (E) successful, (H) assuage
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This sentence describes a shift in the reception of an artist's work. It moves from a state of uncertainty to a state of clarity and success. The words in the blanks must reflect this progression.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Blank 1: The sentence begins by stating Murray has been "eminent" (famous and respected), but the word "although" introduces a contrast. So, while eminent, her work has been met with some form of mixed or uncertain feelings. (C) ambivalence, which means having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something, fits this context perfectly.
Blank 3: The final clause states that something about the new paintings removes "all doubts." This is the key outcome. The verb that fits here is one that means to soothe, remove, or satisfy these doubts. (H) assuage means to make an unpleasant feeling less intense, which is a perfect fit for what a great work of art would do to pre-existing doubts.
Blank 2: This blank describes the quality of the paintings that assuage all doubts. If the paintings resolve ambivalence and remove doubt, they must be very good. (E) successful is the most logical choice. The "most successful" paintings of the show would be the ones that definitively prove her talent and silence the doubters. "Problematic" or "disparaged" paintings would increase doubts, not assuage them.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The logical sequence is: Murray was regarded with ambivalence, but the most successful of her new paintings assuage all doubts.
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