In the Opera Box (No. 3)

c. 1880

Mary Cassatt

Associated Names
Mary Cassatt

Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

The image depicts a woman from the waist up. She is positioned slightly to the side as if she is seated and looking over her shoulder. Her hair is styled in a short, neatly combed manner that frames her face. She is dressed in a formal garment, possibly a dress, with her shoulders exposed. In her hands, she holds a large, ornate fan that partially covers the lower half of her face and chest. The background features a curved railing, indicative of an interior setting, possibly a theater or an opera house, with indistinct hints of people or decorations in the upper section.

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery M88

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    softground etching and aquatint on Japanese paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 20.64 × 18.73 cm (8 1/8 × 7 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 35.88 x 26.99 cm (14 1/8 x 10 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1946.21.80

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Breeskin 1979, no. 22, iv/iv

More About this Artwork

The image depicts a seated woman wearing a large coat and skirt. She is seated with her body angled to the side, head turned slightly towards the viewer. The woman has delicate facial features, with her hair covered by a fluffy hat. Her hands are resting in her lap as she sits on a wide chair. She is not wearing any visible jewelry or holding any objects. The background features simple vertical lines resembling a plain interior wall, creating a minimalist setting.

Interactive Article:  Mary Cassatt, the Daring Printmaker

The pioneering American impressionist was one of the most innovative printmakers of her generation.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Robert Hartshorne (1866-1927), New Jersey (Lugt 2215b); (sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 23 January 1946, lot 27); Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA; acquired 1946 by the National Gallery of Art

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1948

  • American Graphic Art from the Eighteenth Century to the Present Day, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948.

1950

  • Prints by Mary Cassatt. Rosenwald Collection and gift of Miss Elisabeth Achelis, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1950.

1956

  • Art and the Theater, Watkins Gallery, American University, Washington, DC, 1956.

1963

  • Prints and Drawings by Mary Cassatt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1963.

1964

  • Prints by Mary Cassatt, organized by the Smithsonian Travelling Exhibition Service and circulated to 10 venues (Vassar College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY; Norton Gallery & School of Art, Palm Beach, FL; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS; Charles & Emma Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH; Columbus Gallery of Fine Art, Columbus, OH; Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA; and A.D. White Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY), 1964-1965.

1967

  • Miss Mary Cassatt: Paintings and Graphic Arts, Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY, 1967.

1970

  • Graphics by Contemporary Painters, Allentown Art Museum, PA, 1970.

1977

  • Prints of Paris: The 1890s, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1977.

1983

  • Night Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1983, no. 48.

2011

  • Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, 2011, unnumbered catalogue.

2014

  • Degas/Cassatt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2014.

Bibliography

1979

  • Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Graphic Work. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979, no. 22, iv/iv.

2010

  • Jones, Kimberly A. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2010.

2014

  • Jones, Kimberly A. Degas/Cassat. Exh. Cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2014: no. 21.

Inscriptions

recto: below image at left in graphite: Mary Cassatt; lower edge in graphite by unknown hand: E 1100- N.Y.C. 329 - R.H.; verso: at left in graphite by unknown hand: A91004

Markings

recto: none; verso: Robert Hartshorne (Lugt 2215b) and National Gallery of Art

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q65081012

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