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Mary Cassatt is born
Cassatt was born on May, 22, 1844, in Alleghency City, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Pittsburgh. She was born into an upper-middle-class family. -
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Art History: Mary Cassatt
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Personal/Family Life
Her father, Robert Simpson Cassatt, was a successful stockbroker and land speculator, and her mother, Katherine Kelso Johnston, came from a banking family. Katherine Cassatt, educated and very well read, had a deep influence on her daughter. She lived most of her adult life in France. She moved to Paris in 1866, with her mother and family She lived most of her adult life in France. She moved to Paris in 1866, with her mother and family acting as chaperons.NO EXACT MONTH
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Interesting Facts Growing Up
Cassatt grew up in an environment that saw travel as an important part of education. She spent 5 years in Europe and visited many of the capitals, including London, Paris, and Berlin. While away she learned German and French and had her first lessons in drawing and music.Cassatt was one of seven children, of which two died in early stages. Her family moved eastward, first to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, then to the Philadelphia region, where she began schooling at age 6. NO EXACT MONTH -
Not furfilling her dream maybe
Even though her family opposed to her becoming a professional artist, Cassatt began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia at the age of 15. Part of her parents' concern may have been Cassatt's exposure to activists for women’s rights ideas and the bohemian behaviour of some of the male students. But Cassatt was very determined. -
Furfilling her dream
She continued her studies from 1861- 1865, impatient with the slow pace of instruction and the demeaning attitude of the male students and teachers, she decided to study on her own. She was accepted to study with Jean-Léon Gérôme, a highly regarded teacher known for his hyper-realistic technique and his depiction of exotic subjects. Near the end of 1866, she participated in a painting class taught by Charles Chaplin, a well-known artist in 1868, Cassatt also studied with artist Thomas Couture. -
Begining Career
In 1868 one of her paintings, A Mandoline Player, was acknowledged for the first time by the assortment jury for the Paris Salon.This work is in the Romantic style of Corot and Couture, and is one of only two paintings from the first decade of her career that can be documented today. Cassatt continued to work in the traditional manner, submitting works to the Salon for over ten years, with amassed frustration.
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Later Career/displaying works
Cassatt exhibited eleven works, including Lydia in a Loge, Wearing a Pearl Necklace.Although critics claimed that Cassatt's colors were too bright and that her portraits were too accurate to be flattering to the matters, her work was not attacked. She began to display her works in New York galleries. -
another exhibation
She exhibited in the Impressionist Exhibitions that followed in 1880 and 1881, and she remained a lively member of the Impressionist circle until 1886. In 1886, Cassatt provided two paintings for the first Impressionist exhibition in the United States, organized by art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. -
Becoming more interested in art
She continued her studies from 1861- 1865, impatient with the slow pace of instruction and she decided to study on her own. She was accepted to study with Jean-Léon Gérôme, a highly regarded teacher known for his hyper-realistic technique and his depiction of exotic subjects. Near the end of 1866, she participated in a painting class taught by Charles Chaplin, a well-known artist in 1868, Cassatt also studied with artist Thomas Couture, NO EXACT MONTH
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Artist Style
She made numerous portraits of family members during this period, of which the Portrait of Alexander Cassatt and His Son Robert Kelso (1885) is one of her best considered. Cassatt's style then developed, and she moved away from Impressionism to a simpler, more direct approach.After 1886, Cassatt no longer recognized herself with any art movement and experimented with a variety of techniques and strategies.
