Mother and child

Young Mother Sewing, 1900
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
Oil on canvas
36 3/8 x 29 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image: Heilbrunn Timeline

I was reminded of Mary Cassatt's birthday by an Art of the Day reader along with a suggestion to celebrate that with a week of women artists. I'm going to try to include some good links to more women artists in related subject areas. So, we start the week off (a little late!) with Mary Cassatt.

An American expatriate, Cassatt spent most of her adult life in France where she met Edgar Degas and eventually exhibited with the Impressionists which influenced her work. Cassatt chose her vocation, entering art school at the age of 15. With only minor support from family she stayed focused on the artistic life, believing that her career was not compatible with family life (which unfortunately was so often the case). Cassatt's popularity lies in her extensive focus on the subject of mother and child. I'm drawn by this particular work due to the little girl's gaze at the viewer.

Women Artists in Nineteenth-Century France