Where to Find Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was one of the only two female Impressionists.  Originally from a wealthy Philadelphia family, she moved to Paris in 1866 to study art where the this new movement was flourishing.  She soon became friends with Degas and began showing her art in the independent Impressionist exhibitions.

Even though she was never married or had children of her own, Cassatt’s  portrayal of children is so real and natural.  This talent drew me to her paintings. Cassatt regretted never marrying or having children, however she was really able to capture this wonderful gift of parenting in her paintings.

My favorite Cassatt’s are : Little Girl in a Blue Armchair(with assistance from Degas), Breakfast in Bed, Two Children at the Seashore, and Little Girl in a Big Straw Hat and Pinafore. These paintings remind me of those precious years with my own daughters and the ephemeral gift of being a part of their world.

Mary Cassatt lived most of her professional life in France but very few of her paintings are found there.  She even added an extra « t » to her name to give it a French style (She almost changed her first name to « Marie » but decided to keep the American spelling).

I have compiled a list (extensive but not exhaustive) of her works.  The ** denote the Cassatts that I have been privileged to view.  Most of her works are in the United States, fortunately, and can be found in the following museums :

The White House, Washington D.C.

Young Mother and Two Children (1908)

MOMA, NY

**Lydia Crocheting in the Garden (1880)

**The Cup of Tea (1879)

**Lady at the Tea Table (1883)

Mother Feeding her Child  (1898)

**Baby Getting Up from His Nap (1901)

**Mother and Boy (1901)

**Young Mother Sewing (1902)

National Gallery, Washington D.C.

**Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878)

**Miss Mary Ellison (1880)

**Two Young Ladies in a Loge (1882)

**Two Children at the Seashore (1884)

**Girl Arranging Her Hair (1886)

**Little Girl in a Big Straw Hat and Pinafore (1886)

**Portrait of an Elderly Lady (1887)

The Bath  (1891)

**The Lamp (1891)

**In the Omnibus (1891)

**The Letter (1891)

The Fitting  (1891)

**Woman Bathing (1891)

Maternal Caress (1891)

Afternoon Tea Party (1891)

The Coiffure (1891)

Woman with a Red Zinnia (1891)

**The Boating Party (1893)

**Sara in a Green Bonnet (1901)

The Caress (1902)

**Mother Wearing a Sunflower on Her Dress (1905)

Baby’s First Caress (1890)

 

       MFA, Boston MA

**At the Opera (1880)

**Five O’Clock  Tea (1880)

**Margot Embracing Her Mother (1902)

AIC, Chicago

**Lydia Reading in the Garden (1880)

**Mother’s Goodnight Kiss (1888)

**Young Woman Sewing (1890)

**The Bath (1892)

Mother Nursing Her Baby (1908)

Musée du Louvre, Paris

**Young Woman Sewing in a Garden (1886)

 

Huntington Library, Pasadena, CA

My favorite Cassatt :  **Breakfast in Bed (1897) [Exhibition Art Institute of Chicago, 1999]

  Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Massachusetts

Woman and Child Admiring a Baby (1906)

Montclair Art Museum, NJ

The Young Bride  (1875)

 The Newark Museum, NJ

Woman and Child (Mathilde and Robert) (1885)

City Art Museum of St. Louis, Missouri

Girl in Green (1908)

Virginia Museum, Richmond

Baby Reaching for an Apple (1893)

The Banjo Lesson (1894)

Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha Nebraska

Woman Reading (1878)

Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City MO

Lydia Leaning on Her Arms, Seated in a Loge (1879)

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Woman and Child Driving  (1879) 

Portrait of Mr. Alexander J. Cassatt and His Son Robert Kelso (1884)

Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg

Young Woman Picking Fruit (1891)

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia

The Bacchante  (1872)

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA

Mother About to Wash her Sleepy Child (1880)

Armand Hammer Foundation, Los Angeles

Summertime (1894)

Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan

Lydia Working at a Tapestry Frame (1881)

Columbus Museum of Arts, Ohio

Susan Comforting the Baby (1881)

Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Susan on a Balcony Holding a Dog (1883)

Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

Young Woman in Black (1883)

The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Margot in Blue (1902)

The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA

**The Family (1886)

Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio

Baby in Dark Blue Suit (1889)

Wichita Art Museum, Kansas

Emmie and Her Child (1889)

New Britain Museum of Art, Connecticut

Baby’s First Caress (1891)

The Brooklyn Museum, NY

Baby Charles Looking Over His Mother’s Shoulder (1900)

Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, NY

Mother, Young Daughter, and Son (1913)

The Hirshhorn Museum, D.C.

Woman in a Rasberry Costume (1901)

Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts

Reine Lefebvre Holding a Nude Baby (1902)

Young Woman in Green, Outdoors in the Sun (1909)

The Addison Gallery of Art, Andover, Massachusetts

Mother and Child in a Boat (1908)

The Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan

Simone and Her Mother in a Garden (1904)

 Copyright 2015 by Robyn Lowrie.  May be quoted in part or full only with attribution to Robyn Lowrie (www.frenchquest.com)