Girl Arranging Her Hair
1886
Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

This young woman sits at her dressing table arranging her hair. She is looking at herself in a mirror just outside the frame. Cassatt is referencing a popular tradition in European painting: male artists depicting women dressing or undressing. These works show erotic fantasies of women in private spaces. By contrast, Cassatt’s sitter is enjoying a peaceful moment of self-regard. Her ruddy complexion, large teeth, and recessed chin do not match beauty ideals of the time.
The carefully drawn pose and richly painted white shirt are set against fantastic pink, red, and mauve wallpaper. They signal the care Cassatt took with this portrait, among the most accomplished in her career.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 86
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 75.1 x 62.5 cm (29 9/16 x 24 5/8 in.)
framed: 96.5 x 83.2 cm (38 x 32 3/4 in.) -
Accession
1963.10.97
More About this Artwork

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Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas [1834-1917]; (his atelier sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 26-28 March 1918, no. 8); purchased by Louisine Waldron Havemeyer [1855-1929], New York; (her sale, American Art Association Anderson Galleries, New York, 10 April 1930, no. 75); purchased by Chester Dale [1883-1962]; bequest 1963 to NGA.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1886
La 8me Exposition de Peinture [Eighth Impressionist Exhibition], Paris, 1886, no. 9, as Etude.
1893
Exposition Mary Cassatt, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1893, no. 17.
1908
Tableaux et Pastels par Mary Cassatt, Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1908, no. 1, as La Toilette.
1910
Possibly Austellung Amerikanische Kunst, Royal Academy of Art, Berlin, 1910, as "Bei der Toilette."
1920
Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Representative Modern Masters, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1920, no. 7.
1926
A Memorial Collection of the Works of Mary Cassatt, Art Institute of Chicago, 1926-1927, no. 4, repro., as Girl Combing Her Hair.
1927
[Memorial Exhibition], Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, 1927, no. 7.
1928
A Memorial Exhibition of the Work of Mary Cassatt, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1928, no. 9.
1931
Degas and his Tradition, Museum of French Art, New York, 1931, no. 7.
1933
A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, Art Institute of Chicago, 1933, no. 438, repro.
1934
A Survey of American Painting, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1934, no. 11, repro.
1946
American Painting, Tate Gallery, London, 1946, no. 39, as The Morning Toilet.
1965
The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.
1970
Mary Cassatt 1844-1926, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1970, no. 38, repro.
1986
The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986, no. 138, repro. (shown only in Washington).
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. 48, as Study (Etude) (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
1930
"Rush at Auction of Havemeyer Art." The New York Times. 11 April 1930:23
1942
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 42, repro., as The Morning Toilet.
1944
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 42, repro., as The Morning Toilet.
Jewell, Edward Alden. French Impressionists and their Contemporaries Represented in American Collections. New York, 1944: repro. 82.
1952
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 156, color repro., as The Morning Toilet.
1953
French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 52, repro., as The Morning Toilet.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 328, repro., as The Morning Toilet.
1965
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 82, repro.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:498, color repro.
1968
Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 15.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 22, repro.
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oils, Pastels, Watercolors, and Drawings. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1970, no. 146.
1979
Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 117, pl. 103.
1980
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: 139, 140, color repro. 154.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 564, no. 857, color repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 40, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 365, no. 300, color repro.
2008
Pfieffer, Ingrid and Max Hollein. Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Marie Bracquemond. Exh. cat. Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2008: 26, repro.
2013
Jones, Kimberley. "Degas/Cassatt." National Gallery of Art Bulletin no. 49 (Fall 2013): 36-37, repro.
Wikidata ID
Q3633620