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| Mary Stevenson Cassatt American 1844 to 1926 |
A Brief History 1844 Born in Allegheny City,Pennsylvania,America, into a well off family & before the age of 10 had travelled most of Europe. 1861-65 Despite family objections, she began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 1866 Frustrated as a student decided to study the Old Masters herself & moved to Paris. 1870 At the beginning of the Franco Prussian War, she returned to her family home in the USA. 1871 Commissioned to paint Italian paintings by the Archbishop of Pittsburgh & travelled to Italy, then through Europe. 1872 Having studied with various museums on her travels, finally in Paris she studied with Camille Pissaro. This was also the year her 1st painting was exhibited in the Paris Salon. 1874 Met one of her inspirations Edgar Degas who invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists,which she did in 1879. 1877 Cassatt's mother & sister moved to Paris but due to the ill health of both she gave up painting to take care of them. 1882 Her sister died but her mother regained health & she returned to painting. 1886 No longer associated herself with any one particular artistic movement & began experimenting with techniques. 1891 Exhibited her dry point & aquatint prints. 1904 In recognition of her artistic talent she was awarded the Legion d'honneur. 1906 After the unfortunate death of her brother she did not paint again until 1912. 1911 Was diagnosed with various ailments including cataracts. 1914 She was eventually forced to stop painting as she was almost blind. 1915 Showed her works in support of the women's suffrage. 1926 Died in June near Paris. Cassatt was an American painter & printmaker. Having admired Edgar Degas, like him she became proficient in the use of pastels, the medium in which she created her most important works. Eventually her style evolved & became much more simplistic. Her primary subject was the mother & daughter relationship as well as the social aspect of women's lives. The work of Cassatt was not without criticism, with complaints regarding her use of bright colours and her attention to detail that was too accurate to be flattering. However she became an inspiration & role model for many young American artists including Lucy Bacon. Since her death, her artwork has been exhibited worldwide & sold for as much as $2,870,000. |
Summertime 1894
Tea 1880
Self Portrait 1878
| The Child's Bath 1893 |