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Artists in 60 Seconds: Mary Cassatt

By , About.com Guide

© National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Used with permission

Mary Stevenson Cassatt (American, 1844-1926). Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878. Oil on canvas. Overall: 89.5 x 129.8 cm (35 1/4 x51 1/8 in.). Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Paul Mellon. 1983.1.18. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

© National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:

Impressionism

Date and Place of Birth:

May 25, 1844, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania

Life:

Mary Cassatt, best known and loved for her tender portrayals of mothers with children, was not a mother herself. Instead, she pursued the unusual path of becoming a professional painter and printmaker in a foreign country (France). Her great friendship with Edgar Degas gained her entrée into the Paris art world, and she became affiliated (and exhibited) with the Impressionists. In turn, she used her social connections to help the Impressionists, and many wealthy Americans became their patrons.

Important Works:

  • Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878
  • Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child, 1880
  • Girl Arranging Her Hair, 1886
  • The Letter, 1891
  • The Bath, 1892

Date and Place of Death:

June 14, 1926, Le Mesnil-Théribus, France

Go to Artist Profiles: Names beginning with "C" or Artist Profiles: Main Index

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