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MaryStevenson Cassatt

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Pennsylvania, but lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.
She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot.
Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Pittsburgh. She was born into an upper-middle-class family: Her father, Robert Simpson Cassat (later Cassatt), was a successful stockbroker and land speculator. He was descended from the French Huguenot Jacques Cossart, who came to New Amsterdam in 1662. Her mother, Katherine Kelso Johnston, came from a banking family. Katherine Cassatt, educated and well-read, had a profound influence on her daughter. To that effect, Cassatt's lifelong friend Louisine Havemeyer wrote in her memoirs: "Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Mary Cassatt's mother would know at once that it was from her and her alone that inherited her ability." The ancestral name had been Cossart. A distant cousin of artist Robert Henri, Cassatt was one of seven children, of whom two died in infancy. One brother, Alexander Johnston Cassatt, later became president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The family moved eastward, first to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then to the Philadelphia area, where she started her schooling at the age of six.
Cassatt grew up in an environment that viewed travel as integral to education; she spent five years in Europe and visited many of the capitals, including London, Paris, and Berlin. While abroad she learned German and French and had her first lessons in drawing and music. It is likely that her first exposure to French artists Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix, Camille Corot, and Gustave Courbet was at the Paris World’s Fair of 1855. Also in the exhibition were Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro, both of whom were later her colleagues and mentors.
Though her family objected to her becoming a professional artist, Cassatt began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia at the early age of 15. Part of her parents' concern may have been Cassatt's exposure to feminist ideas and the bohemian behavior of some of the male students. Although about 20 percent of the students were female, most viewed art as a socially valuable skill; few of them were determined, as Cassatt was, to make art their career. She continued her studies from 1861 through 1865, the duration of the American Civil War. Among her fellow students was Thomas Eakins, later the controversial director of the Academy.
Impatient with the slow pace of instruction and the patronizing attitude of the male students and teachers, she decided to study the old masters on her own. She later said, "There was no teaching" at the Academy. Female students could not use live models, until somewhat later, and the principal training was primarily drawing from casts.
Cassatt decided to end her studies: At that time, no degree was granted. After overcoming her father's objections, she moved to Paris in 1866, with her mother and family friends acting as chaperones. Since women could not yet attend the École des Beaux-Arts, Cassatt applied to study privately with masters from the school and was accepted to study with Jean-Léon Gérôme, a highly regarded teacher known for his hyper-realistic technique and his depiction of exotic subjects. (A few months later Gérôme also accepted Eakins as a student. ) Cassatt augmented her artistic training with daily copying in the Louvre, obtaining the required permit, which was necessary to control the "copyists," usually low-paid women, who daily filled the museum to paint copies for sale. The museum also served as a social place for Frenchmen and American female students, who, like Cassatt, were not allowed to attend cafes where the avant-garde socialized. In this manner, fellow artist and friend Elizabeth Jane Gardner met and married famed academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Toward the end of 1866, she joined a painting class taught by Charles Chaplin, a noted genre artist. In 1868, Cassatt also studied with artist Thomas Couture, whose subjects were mostly romantic and urban. On trips to the countryside, the students drew from life, particularly the peasants going about their daily activities. In 1868 one of her paintings, A Mandoline Player, was accepted for the first time by the selection jury for the Paris Salon. With Elizabeth Jane Gardner, whose work was also accepted by the jury that year, Cassatt was one of two American women to first exhibit in the Salon. A Mandoline Player is in the Romantic style of Corot and Couture, and is one of only two paintings from the first decade of her career that is documented today.

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The Boating Party

The Loge

The boating party

the boating party

The Child's Bath 2

Young Mother Sewing

Sara Handing a Toy to the Baby

Mother Holding a Child in Her Arms

Lady with a Fan aka Portrait of Anne Charlotte Gaillard

Breakfast in Bed

Mother and Sara Admiring the Baby

Children Playing On The Beach

After the bath

A Corner of the Loge aka In the Box

Elsie Cassatt Holding a Big Dog

Children Playing with a Cat

The Chrochet Lesson

Bust of Ellen with Bows in Her Hair

Portrait of Miss Cassatt, holding the cards

Woman and Child Driving

The Pensive Reader

Celeste in a Brown Hat

Poppies in a Field

Baby Reaching For An Apple

Head of Simone in a Large Plumes Hat Looking Left

Mother and Child

Master Robert Kelso Cassatt

Young Woman Reflecting

Bacchante

Sara in Dark Bonnet with Right Hand on Arm of Chair

Portrait of a Young Girl 1

Young Mother

Sketch of Mother Looking down at Thomas

Lydia Cassatt Leaning on Her Arms, Seated in a Loge

During carnival

Baby Bill in Cap and Shift

Peasant Woman Peeling an Orange

Elsie in a Blue Chair

Lydia at the Tapestry Loom

Mrs Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren

Child In Orange Dress

Mother And Child In A Boat

Portrait of Mrs Havemeyer and Her Daughter Electra

A Kiss For Baby Anne

Woman Reading (also known as Lydia Cassatt)

Sara and Her Mother with the Baby

Autumn

Woman in Raspberry Costume Holding a Dog

Mother and Child 3

Lilacs in a Window

Mother Holding Her Baby

Bust of Francoise Looking Down

Mother Wearing a Sunflower on Her Dress

Sara with her Dog

Theater

Nurse and Child

The Banjo Lesson

Sketch of Anne and Her Nurse

Louise Nursing Her Child

Sarah in a Green Bonnet

Woman with a Parakeet

Somone in a White Bonnet

Girl with a Banjo

Ellen Mary Cassatt with a Large Bow in Her Hair

Bust of Francoise Looking Down

Mother and child (8)

Lydia Reading on a Divan

Mother and Daughter Looking at the Baby

Woman Reading in a Garden

At the theater

Girl Arranging Her Hair

Head of a Young Woman

Woman at Her Toilette

The Young Bride

The Bath

Spanish Dancer Wearing a Lace Mantilla

Ellen Mary Cassatt in a White Coat

Little Girl with a Japanese Doll

Portrait of a Young Woman in Green

Mrs. Robert Simpson Cassatt

Portrait of a Young Woman

Sara Looking towards the Right

Woman Arranging Her Veil

Portrait of Madame Cordier

Francoise Wearing a Big White Hat

Mother Rose Nursing Her Child

Simone in a Large Plumed Hat, Seated, Holding a Griffon Dog

Maternal Caress

A Baby Smiling at Two Young Women

Young Mother Nursing Her Child

Jenny and Her Sleepy Child

Mr. Robert S. Cassatt on Horseback

Susan Seated Outdoors Wearing a Purple Hat

Nurse Reading to a Little Girl

Portrait of a Lady, Seville

Marie Therese Gaillard

The Barefoot Child

Sketch of Mrs. Currey: Sketch of Mr. Cassatt

Woman Sewing

Young Mother Sewing

Madame Meerson and Her Daughter

Girl with a Banjo

In the park

Sara in a Bonnet

Susan Comforting the Baby (no.1)

Peasant Mother and Child

Portrait of a Lady of Seville

Simone in White Bonnet Seated with Clasped Hands (no.1)

Roman Girl

Mary Ellison Embroidering

The Two Sisters

Dorothy in a Very Large Bonnet and a Dark Coat

Reine Lefebvre Holding a Nude Baby

Contemplation

Mother looking down on her children

Sketch of Antoinette (no.1)

Dorothy in a Very Large Bonnet and a Dark Coat

Lydia Cassatt in a Green Bonnet and a Coat

Portrait of a Lady

Young Woman Trying on a Dress

Child In A Straw Hat

Mother and Child (9)

Sara Holding a Cat

Mathilde Holding a Baby Who Reaches out to the Right

Two Young Girls with a Child

Woman and Child

Portrait of a Young Girl (Simone)

Motherhood

Mother And Child

Woman by a Window Feeding Her Dog

The Visit

Mother and Child against a Green Background (Maternity)

Mrs. Duffee Seated on a Striped Sofa Reading

Matertiny

Woman in Black

By the Pond

Mother combing Sara's hair

Baby's First Caress

Women Admiring a Child

Margot Lux with a wide hat

Margot in White

Feeding the Ducks

A Kiss for Baby Anne (no.2)

Baby Smiling up at Her Mother

Ellen with Bows in Her Hair Looking Right

The Caress

Woman and Child

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair

Young mother doughter and baby

Gathering Fruit

The cup of tea

Lydia Sitting on a Porch, Crocheting

Baby in His Mother`s arms, sucking his finger

Baby Bill

Boat, Bath

Emmie and Her Child

Baby Lying on His Mother s Lap, reaching to hold a scarf

Child with Red Hat

A Musical Party

Maternal Caress

Offering the Panel to the Bullfighter

Peasant Mother and Child 1

Bacchante

Lydia Seated in the Garden with a Dog in Her Lap

Antoinette at her dresser

The Banjo Lesson

Maternity

Girl In Large Hat

Mother and Child

Sketch of Reine and Child

The Opera

At the Window

Simone in Plumed Hat

Lydia Leaning on Her Arms

Moise Dreyfus

Mother Sara and the Baby counterproof

Study for Augusta Reading to Her Daughter

In The Garden 1

Marie-Therese Gaillard

The Child-s Bath

The Mandolin Player 1

The Conversation

Toreador

Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt

Mother and Child Reading

Mother and Child

Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt

Portrait Of Alexander Cassatt

A Kiss for Baby Anne (no. 3)

Portrait of Madame Sisley

Maternal Tenderness

Head of Margot

OFFERING THE PANAL TO THE TOREADOR

Sara in a Large Flowered Hat Looking Right Holding Her Dog

SELF PORTRAIT 1

A woman and child in the driving seat

The Lamp

The Garden Reading

Sara Holding A Cat

The Child`s Caress

The Mandolin Player

Sketch of Francois

Portrait of girl

Summertime

The Sisters

YOUNG WOMAN READING

At the Theater

The Letter

Mother's Goodnight Kiss

The Long Gloves

Susan Comforting the Baby (no.2)

Mother and Child 2

Susan in a Toque Trimmed with Two Roses

Mother and Two Children

Young Girl at a Window

Young Girl Reading

Woman Arranging Her Veil

Portrait of young woman

Mother Playing with Her Child

Little girl in a straw hat

Woman on a Striped Sofa with a Dog

Ellen Mary Cassatt In A White Coat

Portrait of Madame A. F. Aude and Her Two Daughters

Little Girl in a Large Red Hat

Young Girl Reading

Sleepy Thomas Sucking His Thumb

Woman reading in a garden

Mother and Children

Baby on Mother's Arm

The Visitor

Under the Horse-Chestnut Tree

Woman with a Pearl Necklace

Baby`s First Cess

Little Girl in a Red Beret

Bathing the Young Heir

Portrait of Margaret Milligan Sloan (no.2)

Figure Studies

Lydia crocheting in the garden at marly

Young Mother

Baby Reaching For An Apple

Clarissa Turned Left with Her Hand to Her Ear

Portrait of a Lady aka Miss Mary Ellison

Moses Dreyfus

Two Women Seated by a Woodland Stream

Jules Standing by His Mother

Margaret Milligan Sloan

Portrait of a Woman 2

The Tea

Nurse Reading

Woman and Child Seated in a Garden

At the Opera

Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly

Portrait of Mrs. H. O. Hevemeyer

Breakfast in Bed

Mother Sara and the Baby

ellen mary cassatt in a white coat

Women in a Loge

Sketch of Ellen My Cassatt in a Big Blue Hat

Ellen with Bows in Her Hair, Looking Right

Mother Feeding Child

Children in a Garden

Mother and Child (11)

Child Drinking Milk

The Bath

Portrait Of The Artist

Lydia at the Theater

Sara in a Green Bonnet

The Family

Afternoon tea party 1

Young Boy in Blue

Pattycake

The Barefoot Child

Madame Gaillard and Her Daughter Marie-Therese

Young Girls

Portrait Of A Young Girl

Denise at Her Dressing Table

Margot in Blue

Young Thomas and His Mother

Children at the Seashore

Mother and Child

Margot Wearing a Bonnet

Mrs Robert S. Cassatt

The Banjo Lesson

Leontine in a Pink Fluffy Hat

Mother and Child Smiling at Each Other

Jules Being Dried by His Mother

Portrait of Ellen Mary Cassatt

Bust of Ellen with Bows in Her Hair

Young Woman in Green Outdoors in the Sun

Portrait of Madame Sisley

Mother and Little Girl

Portrait of an Elderly Lady

Woman Reading

Mary Ellison Embroidering

Under the Lamp

Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge

Smiling Mother with Sober Faced Child

The Black Hat

Waiting

Self Portrait

The Sailor Boy Gardener Cassatt

Mother and Child (Baby Getting Up from His Nap)

Woman and child driving

Portrait of young girl

Helen Sears

Portrait of a Woman

Lady at the tea table

The Map

The Befooted Child

Woman with Baby

Portrait of Madame X Dressed for the Matinee

Baby Bill in His Cap and Shift, Held by His Nurse

By the Pond

On the Meadow

Woman Bathing

Portrait of Louise Aurora child Villeboeuf

Woman reading

Smiling Sara in a Big Hat Holding Her Dog

The Letter

The Young Bride

The Child's Bath

Afternoon Tea Party

Gardner and Ellen

Baby Charles

George Moore

Reine Lefèbvre and Margot

Sailor Boy. Portrait of Gardner Cassatt as a Child

The fitting 3

Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog

Mothers Kiss

Children in the Garden (The Nurse)

In the Opera Box 3

Gathering Fruit

Lydia at the Tapestry Loom

The Fitting

Head of a Child

Sara Wearing a Bonnet and Coat

On the Water

On a Balcony

In the Garden

Mandolin Player

Sara with her dog

Reine and Margot Seated on a Sofa

Woman Wearing a Bonnett

In the Omnibus

Young Girl in Blue

Portrait of Mme. Fontveille

Lady in Black, in a Loge, Facing Right

The Visitor 1

The Barefooted Child

Portrait Of A Woman

Mother Berthe Holding Her Baby

In the garden

George Moore 1

Portrait of a Young Girl

The Coiffure

The Fitting 1

After the Bullfight

At the Window

In the Omnibus [recto]

Baby Standing on Mother’s Lap

Motherhood

The Sisters

Lydia at Afternoon Tea

Mother and Child 1

Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Susan and Child Facing each Other

The bath

Drawing for Standing Nude

Gardner Held by his Mother

The Corner of the Sofa 1

Mlle Luguet Seated on a Couch

The Corner of the Sofa

Mother Berthe Holding Her Child

Reflection

Augusta and Her Daughter Seated Near a River Bank

Young Girl Fixing her Hair

The Artist's Father Reading

Reading the Newspaper, No.2

Portrait of Katharine Kelso

Study, Mother & Child & Hovering Figure

The Parrot

Mother Holding Up a Baby Who Pats her Cheek

Sara wearing a bonnet

Mother's Kiss

Looking into the Hand Mirror

The Bath 1

Little girl with cap Sun

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair

Lady at the Tea Table

Little Girl in a Large Red Hat

mother and child

Nude Baby on Mother's Lap Resting Her Arm on the Back of the Chair

Children on the Shore

Family Group Reading

Mrs. Gardner Cassatt in Black

Woman on a Striped with a Dog (also known as Young Woman on a Striped Sofa with Her Dog)

Oval mirror

Reine Lefebre and Margot before a Window

A Corner of the Loge aka In the Box

Two women throwing flowers

Preparatory Sketch for Mother and Child in a Boat

The Mirror

A Corner of the Loge (also known as In the Box)

Young Mother and Two Children

Child with Red Hat

mother about to wash her sleepy child

Child on a Blue Cushion

Young Woman Sewing in the Garden

Contemplation (also known as Clarissa Turned Right with Her Hand to Her Ear)

Young Girl with Brown Hair, Looking to Left

Nurse and Child

Young Girl Holding a Loose Bouquet

Young Girl at a Window (also known as Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog)

louise nursing her child

woman reading in a garden

Portrait of Charles Dikran Kelekian at Age 12

Sara with Her Dog, in an Armchair, Wearing a Bonnet with a Plum Ornament

mother and child

untitled (2665)

Two Women Seated by a Woodland Stream

summertime

Woman at Her Toilette

Autumn aka Profile of Lydia Cassatt

Interior of a Tramway Passing a Bridge

Mother and Child Reading

Mother and Child

Woman's Head with Large Hat

Lydia Leaning on Her Arms, Seated in a Loge

Profile of an Italian Woman

untitled (2887)

in the park

Portrait of Master St. Pierre (study)

mademoiselle c. sun

untitled (23)

Woman in a Black Hat and a Raspberry Pink Costume

children in a garden (the nurse) -

Mother Holding a Child in Her Arms

Portrait of a Lady aka Reading Le Figaro

Sketch for 'Francoise in a Round-Backed Chair, Reading

the cup of tea - oil on canvas -

Girl in a Large Hat

Spring: Margot Standing in a Garden

the letter

A Musical Party

sleepy baby

untitled (4151)

Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun

portrait of a woman

Reine Leaning over Margot's Shoulder

untitled (6156)

Young Woman Picking the Fruit of Knowledge (study)

Margot in a Dark Red Costume Seated on a Round Backed Chair

Françoise in Green, Sewing

Lady at the Tea Table

A Visitor in Hat and Coat Holding a Maltese Dog

Portrait of a lady Seville

woman standing, holding a fan

A Seville Belle

Margot in Big Bonnet and Red Dress

Portrait of an Italian Lady

maternal kiss

The Garden

Summertime

The Cup of Tea

woman arranging her veil

Madame H. de Fleury and Her Child

Woman in Black and Green Bonnet, Sewing

Femme cousant

Margot in big bonnett and red dress

Mrs. Robert S. Cassatt aka Katherine Kelson Johnston Cassatt

Mother Combing Her Child's Hair

Summertime

Woman Admiring a Child

susan on a balcony holding a dog

untitled (2133)

untitled (4007)

Girl's Head - Green Background

The Flirtation A Balcony in Seville

Young Woman Picking Fruit

Mother and Child (also known as The Oval Mirror)

Little Girl in a Big Straw Hat and a Pinnafore

nude child

Blue armchair

Little Ann Sucking Her Finger Embraced by Her Mother

louisine w. havemeyer

Girl Arranging Her Hair

Portrait of Alexander J. Cassat and His Son Robert Kelso Cassatt

untitled (8645)

Françoise in a Square-Backed Chair, Reading (also known as Young Girl Reading, Young Girl in a Blue Dress)

Portrait of a Smiling Woman in a Pink Blouse

Spanish Dancer Wearing a Lace Mantilla

The Family

Portrait of Marie-Louise Durand-Ruel

jules being dried by his mother

The Caress

the lamb

The Coiffure study

Head of a Young Girl

Picking Daisies in a Field

Head of Julie, Looking Down

Woman Standing, Holding a Fan

Jules Standing by His Mother

Lydia Seated on A Porch Crocheting

offering the panal to the toreador

Robert and His Sailboat

untitled (6702)

The Cup of Tea

Child with Bangs in a Blue Dress

untitled (6064)

in the omnibus

Portrait of an Elderly Lady in a Bonnet: Red Background

Portrait of Madame J (also known as Young Woman in Black)

mathilde holding a baby who reaches out to the right

young mother sewing

Mother Louise Nursing Her Baby

Young Woman Sewing in a Garden

little girl in a blue armchair (detail) -

Maternal Kiss

the banjo lesson

portrait of the artist

Sketch of Francoise

Mother and Daughter, Both Wearing Large Hats

mrs duffee seated on a striped sofa, reading

untitled (3304)

Head of Francoise Looking Down (no.4)

Woman in a Red Bodice and Her Child

Two Women in a Theater Box

untitled (864)

Woman in Black (also known as Portrait of a Woman)

The Lamp

mother jeanne nursing her baby

The Visitor

Margot in Big Bonnet and Red Dress

untitled (6024)

autumn (profile portrait of lydia cassatt) -

Woman and Her Child aka Helene de Septeuil

Two Sisters

Lydia Seated at an Embroidery Frame

moise dreyfus

maternal caress

alexander cassat

young woman in green outdoors in the sun

the bath

Helene de Septeuil

untitled (5843)

Mother and Child

Reverie aka Woman with a Red Zinnia

Portrait of an Elderly Lady

In the Garden

the family

Heads of Leontine and a Friend

Motherhood (also known as Mother Kissing Her Baby)

children by the shore

untitled (2622)

little girl in big straw hat and pinafore

untitled (2280)

Head of Sara in a Bonnet Looking Left

simone in a white bonnet

in the garden

a musical party - oil on canvas -

a ride in a rowing boat - oil on canvas -

0

portrait of an elderly lady

Portrait of a Woman

Auguste Reading to Her Daughter

mother and child

Child with a Red Hat

the caress

Sarahavecungrandchapeauetunepruneenpendentif-We

the fitting

elsie in a blue chair

young women picking fruit

Moise Dryfus

The Child's Caress

Portrait of Mrs. William Harrison

summertime

little girl in a blue armchair

Portrait of Madame Sisley

young girl reading

Woman with needlework Sun

Portrait of an Italian Lady

Elsie in a Blue Chair

tea

Head of a Young Woman

At the Window

little girl in a blue armchair

untitled

the kiss

untitled (6806)

untitled (2620)

untitled (6989)

untitled (5894)