Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt

Born: 22nd May 1844, Allegheny City, United States Died: 14th June 1926, Chateau de Beaufrense (near Paris), France. Aged 82 Nationality: American Spouse(s): None.

Children: None.

Father: Robert Cassatt Mother: Katherine Cassatt Siblings: 5. Alexander, Lydia, Robert, George and Joseph Cassatt

1. Cassatt came from a wealthy family. Her father was a successful stockbroker and her mother was from a banking family.

2. Cassatt travelled around Europe with her family a lot in her youth.

3. Her family objected to her studying art but she began studying art at the age of 15 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

4. She moved to Paris in 1866.

5. After moving to Paris she enlisted at the Louvre to copy the masters. She studied briefly with Charles Chaplin.

6. Her first exposure to the Impressionists was in Paris in 1875 when she persuaded her friend Louise Elder to buy a Degas painting. Later on she ended up returning to the gallery to view more Degas’.

7. She formed a relationship that would go on closely for years with Degas in 1877.

8. Apparently, Cassatt’s French accent was atrocious when she first met the Impressionists.

9. Also in 1877, her family also moved to Paris.

10. Like Degas, she took up a vow early on in her artist career to never marry, as she believed it would disrupt her career too much.

11. Cassatt first exhibited with the Impressionists 1879. She worked closely with Degas, Caillebotte and Pissarro.

12. Her favourite colour combination was red on a green ground.

13. She was known for painting family scenes and children. Perhaps it was her subconscious telling her that she wanted the family she vowed to never have.

14. She also exhibited in the fifth, sixth and eighth Impressionist exhibitions.

15. Her sister Lydia was one of her favourite subjects in her paintings. She was devastated by her death in 1882.

16. When Paul Durrand-­‐Ruel exhibited Impressionist works in New York in 1886, none of Mary Cassatt’s work was shown. Or it was at least, not listed in the catalogue.

17. Cassatt continued to exhibit and grow more successful throughout her life. In her late years, her sight began to fail. She also visited Renoir a lot in her later years until she died in 1926.