March is Women's History Month

Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an

American painter and printmaker.

Cassatt painted many  images of the

social and private lives of women,

with a particular interest and emphasis on the

 intimate bond between a mother and her child.

Self Portrait of Mary Cassatt

1878

What is so fascinating about Mary Cassatt is,

at the lowest point of her career, 

she was befriended  by the Impressionists and

invited to show her paintings with their own

in a series of independent exhibitions in 1874.

Who were the Impressionists?

Such artists as Edgar Degas, Renoir, and Monet!

there were only two women who were

invited to join this notiable group, Mary and

her friend and colleague, Berthe Moriset. 

The Impressionists had been receiving

the wrath of the critics for several years.

Many thought that the Impressionists were

afflicted with some unknown disease of the eye

 because of their radical ideas of  art in

general and their distinct style of painting!

And still, Mary Cassatt painted,

inspite of what others thought of her art work!

Portrait of Mary Cassatt painted by Edgar Degas

She ws born into a family of weath
 in Pennslyvania and was first inspired
 to paint when she spent five

years of her education abroad
studying art in Europe.

Little Girl in a Blue ArmChair

1878

 She was impressed by the
 paintings of Edgar Degas,

not knowing that later on she
would become friends with him,

She was quoted as saying,

"I used to go and flatten

my nose against that window

and absorb all I could of his art.

It changed my life.

 I saw art then as

I wanted to see it."

In the Box

 1878

Her determination to paint and become

a professional artist survived inspite

of the many situations in her life that

could have completely extinguished her talent. 

The Lilacs 1880

At the age of fifteen, her family objected to her

becoming a professional artist, concerned that

 the bohemian lifestyle of the male artists where

she studied art would  expose her to feminist ideas. 

The Loge 1880

In 1866, she had  to overcome her father's

 strong objections to her moving to Paris

 to study art, only agreeing to let her go

after she convinced her mother

and sister to go as her chaperones.

The Tea  1880

Women were not allowed to attend the

  École des Beaux-Arts so she studied
 privately with masters from the school.

Her painting, A Mandoline Player, was accepted
for the first time by the selection jury
for the Paris Salon. She submitted more of
her work to the Salon but became
increasingly frustrated after encountering
ten years of rejection without

another painting accepted by the  Jury.

In the summer of 1870,
 the Franco-Prussian War had started.
Mary moved back to America and
 lived with her famliy. Her father continued to
object to her career as an artist and
 decided to pay for her basic need
 but not her art supplies.

Helene du Septeuil

1889

Her work attracted the attention of the
 Archbishop of Pittsburgh, who commissioned her
 to paint two copies of paintings by Correggio in
Parma, Italy, advancing her enough money
to cover her travel expenses and part of her stay.

 In the autumn of 1871,
Cassatt’s prospects had brightened.
Her painting,
"Two Women Throwing Flowers During Carnival"
was well received in the
 Salon of 1872 and was purchased.

Tow Women Throwing Flowers

1872

Cassatt continued to express criticism of
the politics of the Salon and the
conventional taste that prevailed there.
Cassatt saw that works by female artists were
oftendismissed with contempt unless
the artist had a friend or protector
on the jury, and she would not
 flirt with jurors to curry favor.

 Her cynicism grew when one of the
 two pictures she submitted in 1875
 was refused by the jury,
only to be accepted the following year
 after she darkened the background.
By 1877,  her entries were rejected,
and for the first time in seven years
 she had no works in the Salon.

In 1877, Cassatt was joined in Paris
 by her parents and her sister, Lydia..
Mary valued their companionship,
 as neither she nor Lydia had married.
 Mary had decided early in life that marriage
 would be incompatible with her career.
Lydia, who was frequently painted by her sister,
suffered from recurrent bouts of illness,
and her death in 1882 left Cassatt
temporarily unable to work.

Lydia Leaning On her Arms
1879

The 1890s were Cassatt's

busiest and most creative time.

She  became a role model for young

American artists who sought her advice.

Though the Impressionist group had  disbanded,

Cassatt still had contact with some of the members,

including Renoir, Monet, and Pissarro.

The Child's Caress

1890

Also in 1891,

Chicago businesswoman Bertha Palmer

 approached Cassatt to paint

 a 54' x 12' mural

 about "Modern Woman" for the

Women's Building at the

World's Columbian Exposition

 to be held in 1893.

Cassatt completed the project over

the next two years while living

in France with her mother.

The mural was designed as a triptych.

The central theme was titled

"Young Women Plucking the Fruits

of Knowledge or Science".

The left panel was

Young Girls Pursuing Fame

and the right panel

Arts, Music, Dancing.

The mural displays a community

of women apart from

their relation to men,

as accomplished persons

in their own right.

Maternite  1890

Maternal Kiss  1896

Palmer considered Cassatt to

be an American treasure

and could think of no one better to

paint a mural at an exposition

that was to do so much to focus

 the world's attention on

 the status of women.

 Unfortunately, the mural was lost

when the building was torn

down after the exhibit.

A Young Mother  1900

As the new century arrived,

Cassatt served as an advisor to several

major art collectors and stipulated that they

eventually donate their purchases

to American art museums.

Sara Holing Her Dog  1901

In recognition of her contributions to the arts,

France awarded her the Légion d'honneur in 1904.

Margot In Blue  1902

Mary Cassatt's brother,

Alexander Cassatt,

(President of the Pennsylvania Railroad)

died in 1906. She was shaken,

as they had been close, but

she continued to be very productive

 in the years leading up to 1910

Children Playing with a Cat   1908

A trip to Egypt in 1910 impressed Cassatt

 with the beauty of its ancient art,

 but was followed by a crisis of creativity;

 not only had the trip exhausted her,

but she declared herself

 "crushed by the strength of this Art",

saying, "I fought against it but it conquered,

 it is surely the greatest Art the past has left us ...

how are my feeble hands to ever paint the effect on me."

Sara Holding a Cat   1908

 Diagnosed with diabetes,

rheumatism, neuralgia,

and cataracts in 1911,

she did not slow down,

but after 1914 she was forced to

 stop painting as she became almost blind.

Nonetheless, she took up the cause

of women's suffrage, and in 1915,

she showed eighteen works in an

exhibition supporting the movement.

Young Woamn In Green  1914

She died on June 14, 1926 at the

Château de Beaufresne,

near Paris, and was buried in the

family vault at Le Mesnil-Théribus, France.

  Fillette au Grande Chapeau  1908

She defied the odds at a time
when  society was not ready to
 accept women as professional artists. 

 She survived wars,

mourned the  death
of several close

 members of her family.

She  overcame rejection,
 frustration, and criticism, 

to become a respected painter
and gifted advisor 

to other women who
wanted to follow
in her footsteps.

The Child's Bath  1893

She could have quit painting so many times and

resigned herself to the aristocratic life

that her family lead, but she could not

stop how she felt about her chosen profession.

Sleeping Baby   1910

Deep inside her beating heart,

 flourished a desire so passionate,

so true, to only be spoken through

 the canvas of Mary Cassatt.

***QUOTES***

There's only one thing in life for a woman;

it's to be a mother....

A woman artist must be ...

capable of making primary sacrifices.

I am independent!

I can live alone and

I love to work.

I think that if you shake the tree,

you ought to be around when

 the fruit falls to pick it up.

American women have been spoiled,

treated and indulged like children;

 they must wake up to their duties.

There are two ways for a painter:

the broad and easy one or

 the narrow and hard one.

I have not done what I wanted to,

 but I tried to make a good fight.

If painting is no longer needed,

 it seems a pity that some of us

are born into the world with

 such a passion for line and color.

***CREDITS***

23 free images courtesy of

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassatt