Mary Cassatt

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar Degas and became the only American artist to exhibit with the Impressionists. Born to a well-to-do family in Pennsylvania, she traveled extensively before settling in Paris to forge an independent artistic career.

Cassatt is celebrated for her tender, unsentimental depictions of women's private domestic spheres, particularly the profound bond between mothers and infants. Her exceptional mastery of printmaking, particularly drypoint and aquatint influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, yielded some of the most innovative graphic works of the 19th century. She was also instrumental in advising American patrons to acquire Impressionist art, helping build great museum collections in the United States.