Mary Cassatt

Picture Study
Kathy Weitz & Emily Cook

The images contained in this PDF are copyrighted, as per the person or museum who
owns it, therefore we cannot offer them as a printed book. If you want the pictures
in print, the copyright allows for you to print and bind them into a little volume for
personal and educational purposes only.
Children on the Shore
Mary Cassatt, 1884
The Boating Party
Mary Cassatt, 1893-94
Nurse Reading to a Little Girl
Mary Cassatt, 1895
Young Mother Sewing
Mary Cassatt, 1900
Breakfast In Bed
Mary Cassatt, 1897
 Summertime
Mary Cassatt, 1894
 Mary Cassatt
Artist Bio Notes
The American painter Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was born to well-to-do parents
in western Pennsylvania. As with most wealthy young ladies of her era, her
education included travel abroad. She spent five years in Europe and gained much
exposure to the fine arts in the capital cites there. At age 15, despite her parents’
reservations about Mary making art her career, she entered the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts. She was very frustrated there by the limitations placed on
female artists, and she eventually withdrew from the Academy and moved to Paris,
again over her father’s objections. When he reluctantly gave his consent, Mary and
her mother settled in Paris in 1866, where she began private art lessons. She spent
much time at the Louvre, copying famous paintings and selling them to finance her
studies. When the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870, she returned home. Her
father, still resistant to her chosen profession, paid her living expenses, but would
not finance her art supplies. During her short stay in America, she went to Chicago
seeking work, and there she lost several of her works in the Great Chicago Fire of
1871. Receiving a commission from the Archbishop of Pittsburgh to make copies of
two painting by Corregio in Italy, she returned to Europe in the fall of 1871. Finally
settling in Paris in 1877, Mary Cassatt became close friends with Edgar Degas, and
was heavily influenced by the Impressionists. Mary Cassatt’s signature style included
a strong emphasis on the mother and child relationship.

Artist Bio Notes

These notes are provided to aid the teacher’s own background research on the artist
and his or her works. This is not meant to be presented to students as a list of facts
and dates. When you first introduce the artist, tell students where the artist fits into the
timeline of history, and where the artist lived and worked. Add a few more details with
each new picture, but the information you share should be short and simple unless your
students ask questions or wish to know more. Keep the main focus of your Picture Study
time on observation and narration of the details of the picture.

Note: if a footnote appears with a fact that is not a direct quote, the fact comes from
ONE source only.
 Life and Character

 1844, born to wealthy parents near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 For five years during the 1850s, she lived in Europe with her family.

 After this sojourn in Europe, her family moved back to Pennsylvania.

 Around 1866, Mary traveled alone to Europe.

 1874, settled in Paris permanently.

 1877, her parents and sister came to live with her in Paris

 1882, her sister Lydia, who often modeled for Mary’s paintings, died.

 1895, her mother died.

 1898, visited family and friends in America for the first time in over twenty
years

 1900, her eyesight began to fail

 1910 or 1911, traveled through Egypt with her brother, who contracted an
illness and died shortly after the trip.

 1926, having lost her family and her ability to paint due to virtual blindness,
Mary died a heartbroken woman.

Training and Career

 For four years in the early 1860s, she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of
Fine Arts.

 Around 1866, Cassatt returned to Europe (France and Italy) where she
continued her studies by working with prominent artists, visiting museums,
copying artworks, and sketching.

 1868, her first piece of art was accepted by the Paris Salon.

 1872, first official exhibit with the Paris Salon.

 1877, Edgar Degas invited her to join the Impressionists.

 1879, exhibited for the first time with the Impressionists.

 1886, exhibited for the last time with the Impressionists.

 1888, as each Impressionist branched off into his or her own style, Mary turned
towards mother-and-child artworks

 1891, first solo exhibition in Paris.

 1893, painted a mural called Modern Woman for an art exhibition in Chicago.

 1914, stopped painting due to her failing eyesight.

Art Style and Achievements

 Mediums: oils, pastels, drawings, prints.

 Most known for her mother-and-child paintings.

 The only American to join the Impressionists.

 Influences: The art of her impressionist friends Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas
greatly influenced her style. As with other Impressionists, Mary was influenced
by Japanese prints. The influence of the Old Master art she studied throughout
Europe was never lost. Her later works reflect a shift from Impressionism back to
Old Master art.

 Helped her friends the Havemeyers collect art. The Havemeyer art collection,
now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, had nearly 4,500 important pieces,
including works by Cassatt. Cassatt was therefore influential in bringing
Impressionist art into America.

Artworks

 Children Playing on the Shore: Cassatt included this piece in her last exhibition
with the Impressionists in 1886. This piece is not located in the National Gallery
of Art.
 The Boating Party: the large figures and odd shapes and angles display the
influence of Japanese art on Cassatt’s style. This piece is also on display at the
National Gallery of Art.

 Young Mother Sewing: Cassatt’s good friends the Havemeyers acquired this
piece. It is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the
Havemeyer collection.

How Can I Be A Painter Like Cassatt?

 Create a painting or drawing reflecting the mother-and-child relationship. What

do moms and kids do together? What’s your favorite thing your mom does with
you? Capture one of these moments in an artwork.

 Make a Japanese print like Cassatt. You can do this by using stamps or by
creating your own stamps out of Styrofoam, pieces of fruit, or whatever your
imagination thinks up!

Artist Bio Links

http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/cast/hd_cast.htm (medium length, informative)

http://www.nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/mary-cassatt (short, covers important details)

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Museum/Artists/c/Mary_Cassatt/ (long, informative)

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/artist-info.1107.html?artobj_
artistId=1107&pageNumber=1 (very short)

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/pharos/sections/making_art/index_japan.html (how Japanese prints are

made)

http://printkat.blogspot.com/2011/04/styrofoam-printmaking-tutorial.html (printmaking idea for kids using

Styrofoam)

Picture Sources
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassatt_Mary_Children_on_the_Beach_1884_.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Cassatt_002.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassatt_Mary_Nurse_Reading_to_a_Little_Girl_1895.jpg

http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/mary-cassatt/young-mother-sewing-1900

http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/mary-cassatt/breakfast-in-bed-1897

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Cassatt_-_L%27%C3%89t%C3%A9.jpg