Mary Cassatt (1845 - 1926)

One of the most famous female Impressionists, Mary Cassatt, was born May 22, 1844 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. Her ancestors had escaped religious persecution in France almost 250 years before, but when she was seven her parents took her to Paris. After traveling all over Europe for four years, her parents returned to Philadelphia in 1855. Four years later, Mary decided she wanted to be an artist, and managed to convince her parents to let her attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1866, she returned to Paris but continued to study and paint. Ten years later she met Degas who became a close friend and colleague, as well as an important influence on her work. Her brother was an art dealer in America and through him she was able to help fellow Impressionists like Monet, Renoir, and of course Degas. At this time, her parents moved permanently to Paris as well.

She returned to the U.S. in 1870 for 18 months during the Franco-Prussian war but in 1871 she went back to Europe and traveled to Holland, Belgium, and Rome. She and her sister Lydia lived in an apartment in Paris that also had a studio.

Mary Cassatt's work was well received in both Europe and America. She loved painting mothers and children and her work was marked by gentle lighting and soft colors. She was influenced by other Impressionists, including Manet. Of them, she said, "I admired Manet, Courbet, and Degas. I took leave of conventional art. I began to live." However, after seeing an exhibit of Japanese prints in 1890, her work became more dramatic and colorful. It also encouraged her to focus on doing prints and the results were impressive.

In 1892 she received a commission to paint a mural for the Women's Building (designed by a woman architect) at the Chicago World's Fair. In addition to her work as a painter and printmaker, she was also an advocate for Impressionist artists. She had enough money to support herself without needing a husband or patron. She traveled back to the U.S. twice more, once in 1898 and again in 1908. She also visited Italy, Spain, and the Middle East. A woman who usually spoke her mind, she had gone blind from cataracts when she died near Paris on June 14, 1926.