Cassatt, Mary

Mary Cassatt (1844 – 1926)

American painter Mary Cassatt spend most of her life in France, where she was a friend of Edgar Degas from whom she also learned to truly master the use of pastel colors. She exhibited together with the impressionists in Paris in 1879, 1880 and 1881 and remained active within the impressionist group until 1886. At that point she declared that she did not identify herself with any particular art movement and instead experimented with numerous techniques. She however stayed in touch with some artists, like Monet, Renoir and Pissarro.

A recurring motive in the art of Cassatt was women and the bond between mother and child.

Among the most popular paintings from Mary Cassatt are “The Boating Party”, “Breakfast in Bed” and “Motherhood”. Mary Cassatt paintings have fetched up to USD 2.9 million at auction.