Mary Cassatt

Impressionism

Mary Cassatt was the only American to exhibit officially with the French Impressionists in Paris.

💡 Did you know? She was the only American in the group.

mother and child

She showed these moments naturally and tenderly, without kitsch.

💡 Did you know? Cassatt had no children of her own, yet made the tender bond of mother and child her lifelong subject.

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas brought Cassatt into the Impressionist circle in 1877 and became her most important artistic companion.

💡 Did you know? Her friendship with the often prickly Degas was close but stormy: at times the two did not speak at all.

USA, active in Paris

Cassatt came from a wealthy Pennsylvania family and spent almost her whole artistic life in France.

💡 Did you know? She advised wealthy American collectors on buying Impressionist works and so brought the movement to the US.

women's rights / suffrage

Cassatt actively supported women's suffrage.

💡 Did you know? In 1915 she exhibited works in support of the suffragettes: her sister-in-law, an opponent of the vote, boycotted the show.

went blind, died 1926

In old age Cassatt went blind from cataracts and could no longer paint in her final years; she died in 1926 near Paris.

💡 Did you know? She brought many Impressionist masterpieces into American collections.

The Child's Bath

Around 1893: a tender mother-and-child scene, her main theme.

💡 Did you know? The steep bird's-eye view and patterned surfaces reveal Cassatt's enthusiasm for Japanese woodblock prints.

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair

Painted around 1878.

💡 Did you know? Degas lent a hand with this early work: the child sprawled in boredom was unusually honest for the time.

Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge

Painted around 1879.

💡 Did you know? The theatre and its boxes were a favourite Impressionist motif: Cassatt shows the woman as a self-assured observer.

The Cup of Tea

Painted around 1880.

💡 Did you know? The tea ritual was part of everyday life in Cassatt's milieu: painted here with loose, bright brushwork.

Girl Arranging Her Hair

Painted around 1886.

💡 Did you know? Degas particularly admired this picture and traded one of his own works for it.

The Boating Party

Around 1893: a boldly composed scene on the water.

💡 Did you know? The bold blocks of colour and the cropped framing again betray the Japanese influence.

Woman with a Sunflower

Painted around 1905.

💡 Did you know? The sunflower on the dress was a symbol of the women's suffrage movement.

Young Mother Sewing

Painted around 1900.

💡 Did you know? As the mother sews, the child leans against her trustingly: everyday life rather than a pose.

Lady at the Tea Table

Painted around 1884.

💡 Did you know? Cassatt painted a relative here; she later gave the picture to a New York museum.

Mother and Child (The Oval Mirror)

Painted around 1899.

💡 Did you know? The composition deliberately recalls Renaissance images of the Madonna: a modern „mother and child.“

A Woman and a Girl Driving

Painted around 1881.

💡 Did you know? Cassatt shows women driving a carriage themselves: unusual for the period.

Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt (1844 to 1926) was an American Impressionist painter who worked in Paris and is famous for her tender images of mothers and children.

💡 Did you know? Cassatt was one of the few women and the only American in the core group of the Paris Impressionists.