Essay On The Life And Legacy Of Mary Cassatt

The Life and Legacy of Mary Cassatt Mary Cassatt was most widely known for her impressionist pieces that depicted mother (or nanny) and child. She was faced with many struggles throughout her life and received much criticism, even after her death in 1926. She found it difficult to receive appropriate recognition for her pieces during her early career. Many were unaccepted by the Salon. Cassatt lived for many years in France after her successful career, which ended abruptly when she went blind. Her talent placed her pieces in many famous museums throughout the world and landed her name among the famous artists of her time. As well as paving the way for powerful women, like herself. She lived during a time of suffragettes searching for equality.

Though she did receive much criticism for being a woman in the very traditionally sexist and male dominated profession, Mary Cassatt went from a child living in Pennsylvania to a young lady who made a name for herself with her talent. Mary Cassatt had a wonderful childhood filled with travel and a good education. Mary Stevenson Cassatt was born in Allegheny Pennsylvania, which is now part of Pittsburgh on May 22, 1885 (Encyclopedia of World Biography 2). She was one of seven children, two of which did not make it past infancy (Creative Commons License 3). Her childhood was spent moving throughout Germany and France, (Creative Commons License 4) until her family moved back to Pennsylvania, then continued moving eastward to Lancaster and then to Philadelphia (Creative Commons License 3), where Cassatt started school at age six (Creative Commons License 3). Then continued her schooling at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in

Other members of the French Impressionist Group include, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and Degas. Cassatt was known as “the painter and poet of the nursery” (Advameg 6). Cassatt painted members of her family and frequently painted her sister Lydia, who resided in Paris, with Cassatt until she passed away after battling an illness for a large amount of time until she passed away in 1882. After her sister’s death Cassatt took a break from painting. (Creative Commons License 14). Cassatt also painted a portrait of her mother entitled Reading Le Figaro (Creative Commons License 15). Later in Cassatt’s career she moved away from impressionism and Cassatt’s new painting style did not fit in any movement (World Biography 6). Her new painting style was simpler than impressionism (Creative Commons License 19). Later in life after taking a trip to Egypt Cassatt viewed the art done by the ancient Egyptians and began to question her level of skill and the artwork that she had created thus far. One of Cassatt’s friends that went on the trip had contracted a disease in Egypt and shortly after their return home, died. These two instances left Cassatt depressed and unable to paint, this loss was emotionally draining and physically jarring and