Mary Cassatt
Artist
Biography
Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844–1926) was an American painter and printmaker. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), she spent most of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar Degas and exhibited with the Impressionists. Her work often depicts the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bond between mothers and children. The critic Gustave Geffroy counted her among the “three great ladies” of Impressionism, alongside Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot, and she played an important role in introducing Impressionism to American collectors, notably through her friendship with the Havemeyer family.