A Portrait of the Artist's Mother

c. 1889-1890

Mary Cassatt

Associated Names
Mary Cassatt

Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

The image features an upper three-quarters view of a person sitting in a chair. The person is positioned slightly turned to the side, with their left hand raised to their face, touching their chin. The facial features are subtly outlined, with short and neatly groomed hair. The clothing appears to be a loose, flowing garment draped over their shoulders, with a darker line or pattern near the edge. In the background, there is a faint outline of a vase with flowers or reeds. The overall tone of the artwork is in muted sepia. There are no clear indications of jewelry or objects being held. The background is softly textured.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    softground etching and aquatint printed in brown on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 25.24 × 17.94 cm (9 15/16 × 7 1/16 in.)
    sheet: 35.5 x 21.1 cm (14 x 8 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1949.5.468

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mathews and Shapiro 1989, no. 4, ii/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Harris Whittemore [1864-1927], Naugatuck, CT, 1919; (his sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 17 January 1949, no. 38); (Charles Sessler, Philadelphia, PA); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA, 1949; gift to the NGA, 1949.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1967

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

1989

  • Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamston, MA, 1989-1990, no. 4-II, repro.

2025

  • Mary Cassatt at Work, Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 2024-2025 (shown only in San Francisco).

Bibliography

1979

  • Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Graphic Work. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979, no. 122, ii/vii.

1989

  • Mathews, Nancy Mowll, and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989, no. 4, ii/iv.

2024

  • Thompson, Jennifer A. and Garber, Laurel, editors. Mary Cassatt at Work. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young, Legion of Honor, San Francisco; Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2024: 287.

Inscriptions

recto: below image, at right, in graphite: Mary Cassatt; at bottom left, in graphite, in later hand: 3 NY 558; verso: none

Markings

none

Watermarks

oval with seated figure holding a spear and shield, mounted by a crown

Wikidata ID

Q65081085

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