Mary Cassatt

Cassatt, Mary Stevenson

American, 1844 - 1926

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American painter and printmaker (1844—1926)

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We look slightly down onto a woman dressed in golden yellows, sitting in a pale green chair, with a nude child sitting in her lap as they both gaze into a mirror in this vertical portrait painting. Both the people have pale, peachy skin. The chair is angled to our left so the woman’s knees and child cant down toward the lower left corner of the composition, and the woman leans onto the arm closer to us. The chair is painted mint green and the rose-pink upholstery is visible on the seat and a corner behind the woman’s shoulder. To our right, the woman’s vibrant, copper-colored hair is pulled loosely to the back of her head. She has a rounded nose, flushed cheeks, and her full, coral-pink lips are closed. Her long dress has a low, U-shaped neckline. The fabric shimmers from pale, cucumber green to light sunshine yellow. The sleeves of the dress split over the shoulder and a second long, goldenrod-yellow sleeve falls from her elbow off the bottom edge of the canvas. An oversized sunflower, larger than the woman’s face, is affixed to her dress near her left shoulder, closer to us. She looks with dark eyes down toward the small, gold-rimmed mirror she holds in her right hand, farther from us. The child also holds the handle of the mirror with both hands, and in the reflection, the child looks back at us with dark eyes, a button nose, and pink lips. The child’s hair in the reflection is the same copper color as the woman’s, but the child on her lap has blond, shoulder-length hair. The woman rests one hand on the child’s left shoulder, closer to us. The child has a rounded belly and smooth, rosy limbs. The woman and child are reflected in a second mirror hanging on the wall alongside them, opposite us. Their reflections are very loosely painted. The wall behind the pair is sage green across the top and it shifts to fawn brown across the bottom. Brushstrokes are visible throughout, especially in the woman’s dress and hair, and are more blended in the bodies and faces. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.”
Mary Cassatt, Woman with a Sunflower, c. 1905, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.98

Woman with a Sunflower

Mary Cassatt · c. 1905 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.98

Mary Cassatt, Sara Wearing a Bonnet and Coat, c. 1904/1906, pastel over pastel counterproof on chine collé, Rosenwald Collection, 1980.45.9

Sara Wearing a Bonnet and Coat

Mary Cassatt · c. 1904/1906 · pastel over pastel counterproof on chine collé ·  Accession ID  1980.45.9

Mary Cassatt, Kneeling in an Armchair, c. 1903, drypoint, Gift of Miss Elisabeth Achelis, 1942.6.30

Kneeling in an Armchair

Mary Cassatt · c. 1903 · drypoint ·  Accession ID  1942.6.30

Mary Cassatt, The Crocheting Lesson, c. 1902, drypoint in black, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.2767

The Crocheting Lesson

Mary Cassatt · c. 1902 · drypoint in black ·  Accession ID  1943.3.2767

Mary Cassatt, Reine and Margot Seated on a Sofa (No. 2), c. 1902, drypoint in black, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.2766

Reine and Margot Seated on a Sofa (No. 2)

Mary Cassatt · c. 1902 · drypoint in black ·  Accession ID  1943.3.2766

Mary Cassatt, Margot Leaning against Reine's Knee, c. 1902, graphite on wove paper, The Armand Hammer Collection, 1991.217.73

Margot Leaning against Reine's Knee

Mary Cassatt · c. 1902 · graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1991.217.73

Mary Cassatt, Smiling Margot Wearing a Ruffled Bonnet, c. 1902, graphite over red chalk on wove paper, The Armand Hammer Collection, 1991.217.74

Smiling Margot Wearing a Ruffled Bonnet

Mary Cassatt · c. 1902 · graphite over red chalk on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1991.217.74

Mary Cassatt, Margot in a Floppy Bonnet Leaning against a Chair, c. 1902, drypoint in black, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.2769

Margot in a Floppy Bonnet Leaning against a Chair

Mary Cassatt · c. 1902 · drypoint in black ·  Accession ID  1943.3.2769

Mary Cassatt, The Picture Book (No. 1), c. 1901, drypoint in black, Rosenwald Collection, 1954.12.11

The Picture Book (No. 1)

Mary Cassatt · c. 1901 · drypoint in black ·  Accession ID  1954.12.11

Mary Cassatt, The Picture Book (No. 1), c. 1901, graphite on wove paper , Rosenwald Collection, 1954.12.10

The Picture Book (No. 1)

Mary Cassatt · c. 1901 · graphite on wove paper ·  Accession ID  1954.12.10