Past Exhibition

Mary Cassatt

We look slightly down into a lime-green and white rowboat carrying a woman holding a baby and a man in this nearly square painting. The man wears midnight-blue shoes, pants, jacket, and soft, floppy cap. He sits with his back to us, bending forward to row the boat, which is cropped by the bottom edge of the canvas. The left side of his ruddy face is visible over his left shoulder. The woman and baby both have pale skin. The woman and baby sit across from the man, facing us to our left in the bow. The woman’s long-sleeved, sky-blue dress is crosshatched with pink lines. The baby leans back in the woman’s arms, and wears a pink dress, blue socks, and brown shoes. The wide-brimmed hats on both the woman and baby are painted pale celery green. They gaze toward or just past the man. The corner of the boat’s sail, also painted pale green, is pulled taunt by the wind to our left. Azure-blue water surrounds the boat up to the high horizon line, which brushes the top edge of the painting. The shoreline in the distance is lined with trees and dotted with white houses with red roofs.
Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893/1894, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.94

Details

  • Dates

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  • Locations

    East Building Mezzanine
We look slightly down into a lime-green and white rowboat carrying a woman holding a baby and a man in this nearly square painting. The man wears midnight-blue shoes, pants, jacket, and soft, floppy cap. He sits with his back to us, bending forward to row the boat, which is cropped by the bottom edge of the canvas. The left side of his ruddy face is visible over his left shoulder. The woman and baby both have pale skin. The woman and baby sit across from the man, facing us to our left in the bow. The woman’s long-sleeved, sky-blue dress is crosshatched with pink lines. The baby leans back in the woman’s arms, and wears a pink dress, blue socks, and brown shoes. The wide-brimmed hats on both the woman and baby are painted pale celery green. They gaze toward or just past the man. The corner of the boat’s sail, also painted pale green, is pulled taunt by the wind to our left. Azure-blue water surrounds the boat up to the high horizon line, which brushes the top edge of the painting. The shoreline in the distance is lined with trees and dotted with white houses with red roofs.
Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party, 1893/1894, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.94

Overview: This survey of Mary Cassatt's work included 46 paintings and 10 color prints. It was the first comprehensive showing of Cassatt's work since the National Gallery's 1970 exhibition. The showing in Washington included works from the Chester Dale collection, which, by terms of the Dale gift, can only be shown at the National Gallery of Art.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the Art Institute of Chicago in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Nicolai Cikovsky Jr., senior curator of American and British paintings at the National Gallery of Art, coordinated the exhibition.

Sponsor: The exhibition was made possible by the support of Aetna. The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. provided support for the exhibition and accompanying catalogue.

Attendance: 266,835

Catalog: Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, organized by Judith A. Barter, with contributions by Erica E. Hirshler et al. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998.

Brochure: Mary Cassatt, by Deborah Chotner. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1999.

Other Venues:

  • Art Institute of Chicago, 10/13/1998–01/10/1999
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 02/14/1999–05/09/1999

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