Mary Cassatt (1844–1926)

Mary Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, one of seven children in a prominent banking family. They soon moved to Philadelphia but traveled extensively through Europe during Mary's childhood. She learned to speak German and French and received private art lessons that revealed early talent. In 1861, at age 15, she was accepted by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Four years later, over her family's objections, she moved to Paris, where she studied briefly with painters such as Jean-Léon Gérôme, but mainly educated herself by copying works at the Louvre Museum. In 1868, one of her paintings, A Mandoline Player, was accepted by the selection jury for the Paris Salon, making her one of two American women to first exhibit in the Salon. The first major showing of her work was at the 1872 Salon. She and Edgar Degas admired each other's work and soon after they met, became close friends and colleagues. Degas introduced her to other members of the new Impressionist movement such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissaro. For nine years, as the only American in the group, she exhibited with them and helped organize their shows. Mary preferred to call herself an ​"Independent" rather then an ​"Impressionist." As a woman in 19-century Paris, she was unable to visit the cafés, clubs, brothels, and even the streets open to her male colleagues, which explains why the domestic world, along with the occasional theater, became her sphere. She painted chiefly in oils, but in later years, as her eyesight faded, she turned increasingly to pastels, as Degas had also done; and like Degas, she became a leading exponent of the medium. In 1872, Mary had formed a close friendship with another young American in Paris, Louisine Elder, soon to become the wife of the wealthy businessman Henry O. Havemeyer. Mary became Louisine's mentor and with Mary's advice, the Havemeyers amassed the finest and most comprehensive collection of Impressionist art. The works were later donated to museums, thus contributing significantly to the shaping of public taste for Impressionism in the USA.