Mary Cassatt: The Complete Story
Mary Cassatt, who lived from 1844 to 1926, was the American painter who became a full member of the French Impressionists, the only American ever invited into the group. She is famous for tender scenes of mothers and children, though she never married and had no children of her own.
Cassatt in short
Born near Pittsburgh in 1844, into a wealthy family.
Left America for Paris to become a serious artist.
The only American invited to show with the Impressionists.
Close, and often difficult, with Edgar Degas.
Helped bring Impressionist masterpieces into American museums.
An American who escaped to Paris
Cassatt was born in 1844 near Pittsburgh into a comfortable family who thought painting was a fine hobby, not a career. She disagreed.
She studied in Philadelphia, grew frustrated with how little women were allowed to do, and sailed for Europe. Paris became her real home for the rest of her life.
The only American the Impressionists let in
In 1877 Edgar Degas invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists. She joined a circle that included Claude Monet and Berthe Morisot, and showed in their independent exhibitions.
No other American was ever made part of the group. She worked in oil and pastel, and helped define the look of Impressionism itself.
Degas, her difficult friend
Degas was her mentor, her sharpest critic and her closest artist friend. He pulled her into the group and pushed her to be braver, and the two argued and reconciled for decades.
Whether it was ever more than friendship, no one knows. She burned their letters, so the truth went with her.
She painted mothers, and never became one
Her most loved works show mothers bathing, holding and watching their children, painted with closeness but no sugar. She studied the bond like a reporter, not a greeting card.
She never married and had no children herself. The subject she owned was one she chose to observe, not to live.
She put Impressionism on American walls
Cassatt did something few artists manage. She shaped a nation's taste. She advised rich American collectors, above all her friend Louisine Havemeyer, on what to buy.
Much of the Impressionist and old master treasure now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York came through her eye. She gave America its Impressionism.
An artist for the vote
She backed the fight for women's suffrage openly. In 1915 she showed her work in an exhibition staged to support the cause, even as it strained her friendship with Degas, who disapproved.
Years earlier she had painted a large mural on the theme of the modern woman for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The mural was later lost, which makes it one of the great vanished works of American art.
Going blind, and stopping
From around 1910 her eyesight failed, worn down by cataracts and diabetes. Operations did not save it, and by the late 1910s she could no longer paint.
She spent her last years nearly blind at her country house outside Paris and died there in 1926.
Quick questions about Mary Cassatt
Where and when was she born?
Near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1844.
How and when did she die?
She died in 1926 near Paris, after years of failing eyesight.
What is she known for?
Her Impressionist scenes of mothers and children, and her colored prints inspired by Japanese art.
Did she have children?
No. She never married and had no children, despite being the great painter of motherhood.
Why does she matter beyond her paintings?
She helped fill American museums with Impressionist art by guiding the collectors who bought it. She also stands among the greats in 10 Women Artists You Need to Know and The Old Masters Were Women Too.
Where can you see her work?
Especially the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
The legacy on the walls
Most artists hope to hang in a great museum. Cassatt helped decide what hangs in many of them. When Americans line up to see Impressionism today, they are often looking at the taste of one determined woman from Pittsburgh.
A few more surprises sit in interesting facts about Mary Cassatt.