Woman with a Fan

c. 1878/1879

Mary Cassatt

Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

Shown from the hips up, a pale-skinned woman holds an open, gold-colored fan in her lap in this vertical, loosely painted portrait. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the clothing and background, so some details are indistinct. The woman’s body is angled slightly to our left, and she looks off in that direction with her chin pulled in. Her dark eyes seem unfocused under faint brows. She has an oval face with a straight, flaring nose, and her full, pale pink lips are closed. Her brown hair is pulled back, and she wears a white scarf tied under her chin. Her high-necked dress is painted with strokes and dabs of celery green and butter yellow and is shaded with mauve pink. The cuffs are scarlet red where they fold back over her forearms. The woman sits on an upholstered sofa with a rounded back, painted in similar shades of pale green and yellow with touches of red. The back of the sofa and the woman’s head are reflected in a framed mirror just behind the couch. The area in the top right corner of the composition is especially loosely painted but strokes in white, red, green, and blue. The artist signed the painting near the woman’s shoulder to our left: “Mary Cassatt.”

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 86

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 85.5 x 65.1 cm (33 11/16 x 25 5/8 in.)
    framed: 108.6 x 88.9 cm (42 3/4 x 35 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.95

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by (Durand-Ruel, New York);[1] (sale, Durand-Ruel, New York, 23 October - 12 November 1926, no. 13, as Femme à l'Eventail); Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.
[1] According to the Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial file, Durand-Ruel purchased the painting directly from the artist.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1879

  • Possibly Le 4me Exposition de Peinture [Fourth Impressionist Exhibition], Paris, 1879, no. 48 as Étude de femme avec éventail.

1893

  • Exposition Mary Cassatt, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1893, no. 10, as Femme à l'éventail.

1895

  • Exposition of Paintings, Pastels and Etchings by Miss Mary Cassatt, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1895, no. 2, as Femme à l'Eventail.

1901

  • Eighth Annual Exhibition of American Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1901, no. 1, repro., as Femme à l'Eventail: Woman with Fan.

1903

  • Paintings and Pastels by Mary Cassatt, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1903, no. 2, as Femme a l'éventail.

1907

  • 102nd Annual Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1907, no. 127, as Femme a l'eventail.

1909

  • Pictures by Mary Cassatt, St. Botolph Club, Boston, 1909.

1911

  • Special Exhibition of Paintings by the Masters of the Modern French School, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1911, no. 10, as Femme à l'éventail.

1914

  • Fifth Exhibition. Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1914-1915, no. 77, as Woman With a Fan.

1917

  • Exhibition of Paintings by Six American Women Painters, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; Cleveland Museum of Art; Cincinnati Art Museum; Kansas City Art Institute; City Art Museum, St. Louis, 1917-1918, no. 2, as Woman with Fan.

1924

  • Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels by Mary Cassatt, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1924, no. 2, as Femme à l'éventail.

1926

  • Twentieth Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by American Artists, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, April-June 1926, no. 21, as Woman With a Fan.

  • Exhibition of Paintings and Pastels by Mary Cassatt (1847-1926), Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, October-November 1926, no. 13, as Femme à l'éventail.

  • A Memorial Collection of the Works of Mary Cassatt, Art Institute of Chicago, 1926-1927, no. 35, repro., as Woman with a Fan.

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

1998

  • Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, The Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998-1999, no. 9, as Portrait of a Lady (shown only in Washington).

2010

  • From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1929

  • Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 42, repro., as Dame à L'éventail.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 40, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 40, repro., as Woman with a Fan.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 50, repro.

1965

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 80, repro.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 22, repro.

1980

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: no. 44, color repro.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 34, repro.

1981

  • Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: repro. 134, 138.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 564, no. 860, color repro.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 148, no. 51, color repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 39, repro.

Inscriptions

center left: Mary Cassatt

Wikidata ID

Q20188845

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