mary cassatt ~ a quieter time

many years ago i was in a used bookstore, scouring through a few tables loaded down with books of all types. one especially large and colourful book caught my attention so i spent some time wandering through it. devoted to the american impressionists it featured some truly exquisite works that depicted scenes along the eastern seaboard of the united states.

american impressionism was a phenomenon that spread across the united states, with schools and isolated pockets of artists ascribing to its use of colour to depict an impression or sense of a moment. to my own eyes though it is the work of those who lived on or near the eastern seaboard that is most pleasing.

gathering in places like cos cob and old lyme (now famous as the namesake of lyme disease), the east coast impressionists had access to a landscape, a coastline and a culture that was (and still is) unique and rich in its subject matter.

one of the more well-known american impressionists was mary cassatt. mary was born in allegheny city, pennsylvania which is now part of pittsburgh. as you might expect, she was born into a life of privilege which freed her up to pursue art as a vocation. much of her adult life was spent in france where she was friends with the impressionists including most notably edgar degas. her paintings typically are of people, particularly mothers and children. she is especially adept at capturing the langurous feeling of a lazy afternoon . . .
if you would like an unpacking of this painting, then a really informative podcast can be listened to here.
here are a few of mary’s paintings . . .
"summertime" (1894) . . . "the boating party" "woman reading"