Cassatt, Mary (kəsăt`), 1844–1926, American figure painter and etcher, b. Pittsburgh. Most of her life was spent in France, where she was greatly influenced by her great French contemporaries, particularly Manet and Degas, whose friendship and esteem she enjoyed. She allied herself with the impressionists early in her career. Motherhood was Cassatt's most frequent subject. Her pictures are notable for their refreshing simplicity, vigorous treatment, and pleasing color. She excelled also as a pastelist and etcher, and her drypoints and color prints are greatly admired. She is well represented in public and private galleries in the United States. Her best-known pictures include several versions of Mother and Child (Metropolitan Mus.; Mus. of Fine Arts, Boston; Worcester, Mass., Art Mus.); Lady at the Tea-Table (Metropolitan Mus.); Modern Women, a mural painted for the Women's Building of the Chicago exposition; and a portrait of the artist's mother.

Bibliography

See catalog by A. D. Breeskin (1970, rev. ed. 1980); N. M. Mathews, ed., Cassatt and Her Circle: Selected Letters (1984); N. Hale, Mary Cassatt (1987); N. M. Mathews, Mary Cassatt: A Life (1994).

Cassatt, Mary

(born May 22, 1844, Allegheny City, Pa., U.S.—died June 14, 1926, Château de Beaufresne, near Paris, France) U.S. painter and printmaker, active in Paris. She spent her early years traveling in Europe with her wealthy family. After attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1860–65) she later studied in Paris, copying Old Masters. In 1874 Cassatt chose Paris as her permanent residence and established her studio there. She shared with the Impressionists an interest in experiment and in the use of bright colours inspired by the out-of-doors. Edgar Degas became her friend, and at his request she exhibited with the Impressionists. She portrayed scenes of everyday life, particularly images of mothers and children, and was skilled at drawing and printmaking. Some of her best works were executed in pastel. Through her social contacts with wealthy private collectors, she promoted Impressionism in the U.S. and exerted a lasting influence on U.S. taste.

Cassatt, Mary (Stevenson) (1845–1926) painter; born in Allegheny City, Pa. Born into a well-to-do family, she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1861–65) but found it old fashioned; between 1866–74 she studied and painted in Paris, Italy, Spain, and Holland, finally settling in Paris, her home for the rest of her life. Befriended by Degas, she was soon characterized an impressionist painter in both style and subject matter; in fact by 1883 she was emphasizing more the linear aspect. Another influence on her style was an 1890 exhibition of Japanese prints in Paris. She never married, but her own family gravitated to her in Paris; from 1910 on, her increasingly poor eyesight virtually put an end to her serious painting. She is best known for her luminous portraits of women and children such as The Morning Toilet (1886) and Mother Feeding a Child (1898). A less recognized legacy was her influence in getting many Americans to acquire Impressionist and other contemporary French paintings now in U.S. museums.