The Fitting

1890-1891

Mary Cassatt

Associated Names
Mary Cassatt

Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

Three women are depicted in the image. Two women are shown fully, while one is captured from the back up to her shoulders. The central woman is standing slightly turned to the left with her head gently tilted downward, while the woman on the right side is facing away, showing a side profile. The woman in the foreground is sitting and turned away from the viewer. The central woman has softly defined facial features with delicate shadows on her cheeks, and her hair is dark, short, and coiled close to her scalp. The women are dressed in flowing garments; the two standing women wear patterned dresses in earthy tones, prominently featuring orange with vertical stripes, while the woman sitting is in a light-colored outfit. Small, fine lines suggest the presence of light fabric around the central woman's shoulders. The setting appears to be a simple interior with a contrasting dark and light background, possibly indicating walls or large panels. The scene is devoid of additional ornaments or objects, focusing the viewer's attention on the women's positions and attire.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color drypoint, softground etching, and aquatint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 37.7 × 26 cm (14 13/16 × 10 1/4 in.)
    sheet: 43.6 × 30 cm (17 3/16 × 11 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1950.1.42

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Mathews and Shapiro 1989, no. 9, iv/vii

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1950

  • Prints by Mary Cassatt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1950.

1951

  • Mary Cassatt and her Parisian Friends, Pasadena Art Institute, CA, 1951, no. 40.

1958

  • Color Etchings and Aquatints by Mary Cassatt, Ogunquit Museum, ME, 1958.

1959

  • The Great Century: France 1800-1900, The University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, IN, 1959.

1962

  • Paintings, drawings and graphic works by Manet, Degas, Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1962, no. 137.

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.

1973

  • Mary Cassatt, 1844-1926, Newport Harbour Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA; Santa Barbara Museum, CA, 1973-1974.

  • Whistler, Casstt and Hassam: Three American Printmakers, Rutgers University Art Gallery, New Brunswick, NJ, 1973.

1992

  • Lessing Rosenwald: An Exemplary Collector, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany, 1992.

Bibliography

1979

  • Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Graphic Work. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979, no. 147, iv/vi.

1989

  • Mathews, Nancy Mowll, and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989, no. 9, iv/vii.

Inscriptions

recto: at lower left in graphite in later hand: E853 L'essayage; below image at right in graphite: Mary Cassatt; at lower right in graphite in later hand: [indecipherable]; verso: at lower center in graphite in later hand [indecipherable] 8 de la série de 10 epr en couleurs

Markings

recto: none; verso: National Gallery of Art

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q65081093

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