Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an American painter who became a full member of the French Impressionist circle. Born in Pennsylvania in 1844, she moved to Paris and was invited by Edgar Degas to exhibit with the Impressionists, a rare achievement for a woman and an American. She became known above all for tender, unsentimental scenes of mothers and children going about daily life.

She painted women reading, taking tea, and caring for their children with fresh color and a keen eye, avoiding easy sweetness. She was also a superb printmaker, inspired by Japanese prints. Cassatt used her position to encourage American collectors to buy Impressionist art, and she is now honored as one of the movement's finest painters.