Mary Cassatt at Work

A new study of Mary Cassatt that explores the centrality of work to both her inventive technical practice and her distinctive approach to modern subjects Mary Cassatts (18441926) sensitive depictions of the social, intellectual, and professional lives of modern women often emphasize the work involved in the undervalued sphere of feminized activity. From her renowned portrayals of women and children that foreground the labor of caregivingwhether performed by hired help or mothersto her images of embroidering, theatergoing, and reading, her female subjects are actively engaged, and often engrossed, in what they are doing. Highlighting Cassatts attention to womens roles in the making of modern life, this study connects her recurring subjects and rigorous techniques to her own understanding of her status as a professional artist. Rather than inspiration, genius, or sentiment, it was intense effort that Cassatt most identified with in her processes of pastel drawing, intaglio printmaking, and oil painting, which resulted in an ever-evolving style that left the labors of art-making visible. Drawing on previously unpublished letters, Cassatt family correspondence, and groundbreaking insights from technical examination of her works, Mary Cassatt at Work places the artists carefully constructed professional identity within the wider social contexts of Parisian modernity. Distributed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art Exhibition Schedule: Philadelphia Museum of Art (May 18September 8, 2024) The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (October 5, 2024January 26, 2025)