Interesting Facts About Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt was an American painter, the only American invited to show with the French Impressionists, who never married, had no children, and still became famous for her tender scenes of mothers and children.
She was an outsider twice over, an American in Paris and a woman in a men's circle, and she turned both into an advantage.
She was the only American with the Impressionists
Edgar Degas invited her to exhibit with the group in 1877. No other American was asked. She showed her work in their independent shows while the official Salon still looked down on them.
She and Degas had a complicated bond
Degas was her mentor and her sparring partner. They were close for decades, then fell out. She burned their letters near the end of her life, so the full shape of the friendship is gone for good.
She helped build America's great collections
She advised the collector Louisine Havemeyer on what to buy in Europe. A large share of the French masterpieces that later reached the Metropolitan Museum came through Cassatt's eye.
She was a suffragist who lost her sight
She painted a mural called Modern Woman for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, now lost. Cataracts and diabetes slowly ended her ability to paint. She died in 1926, nearly blind.
Things readers ask about Cassatt
Where was she born? Near Pittsburgh, in 1844.
When did she die? In 1926, in France.
What is she known for? Mothers and children, in oil and in pastel.
Did she have children? No, though she became the great painter of motherhood.
For the full life, read the complete Mary Cassatt story, or see where she fits in Impressionism.