100 paintings - American impressionism
Mary Cassatt: 100 essential paintings
Maternity, childhood, lodges, reading, tea, toilet and modern life: a hundred paintings to understand the clear and intimate art of Mary Cassatt.
Each notice explains a specific work based on its subject, its history, its composition and institutional catalogs. Images and links open Alpha Reproduction files. The page is static, without slideshow.
Why Cassatt matters
The intimate as a great modern subject
Mary Cassatt gave gestures of care, to children, to women who read, go out, observe or prepare a new pictorial force.
At Cassatt, daily life becomes a modern scene, constructed by the gaze.
This top 100 follows this modernity from the impressionist dressing rooms to the large maternity scenes.
Enter the rankingMary Cassatt's 100 essential paintings
Works that place Cassatt at the heart of modern life.
#1Little Girl in a blue armchair
Presented at the Impressionist exhibition of 1879, this painting breaks with the wise portrait of childhood. The little girl abandons herself in a blue armchair, legs apart, while the little dog sleeps on the neighboring seat. Edgar Degas is said to have advised Cassatt on certain elements of the composition. The succession of armchairs and the off-center framing transform the living room into a modern, unstable and frankly observed space.
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#2In the dressing room
A woman dressed in black carries her binoculars towards the stage while a man, in the background, directs his towards her. Painted in 1878 and kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the work makes the Opera a network of glances rather than simple entertainment. Cassatt shows an active spectator, but also reminds us that the women present in public space are themselves observed.
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#3Woman with a pearl necklace in a dressing room
In this 1879 painting kept in Philadelphia, Lydia Cassatt appears in a dressing room lit by the theater globes. The mirror multiplies the balconies and the crowd, while the pink dress and the necklace capture the artificial light. Exhibited with the impressionists, the work combines worldly elegance and autonomy of the model, seated without seeking the viewer's gaze.
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#4Tea
Two women are having tea in a Parisian interior around 1880. Cassatt remembers the moment when one brings the cup to her lips and the conversation seems suspended. The stripes on the wall, the silverware and the clothes structure the scene without weighing it down. Preserved in Boston, Le Thé gives ordinary female sociability the same pictorial ambition as a historical subject.
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#5Children in a garden (The nurse)
Painted in 1878, this scene shows a nanny sitting on the edge of an alley while a pram occupies the center of the garden. Cassatt avoids transforming childhood into a spectacle: the baby is almost hidden, and the woman remains absorbed in waiting. The plunging perspective, flowers and quick touches make the park a place of domestic work as much as bourgeois leisure.
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#6The Cup of Tea
Lydia Cassatt sits in front of a cup and saucer around 1880 -1881. The profile, the cut table and the bouquet placed behind it tighten the scene in a moment of absorption. At the Metropolitan Museum, the painting testifies to Cassatt's attention to the daily rituals of his sister, whose fragile health retrospectively gives these images a discreet gravity.
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#7Lady at her tea table
Mary Dickinson Riddle, cousin of Cassatt's mother, is depicted at her tea table around 1883 -1885. The blue and white service, then offered to the Metropolitan Museum with the painting, is not a neutral decor: its motifs respond to the cap and the face. Cassatt constructs a portrait of character where the quiet authority of the model prevails over any worldly effect.
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#8Children playing on the beach
Two little girls play in the sand in 1884, entirely focused on their bucket and shovel. Cassatt lowers the viewpoint and narrows the horizon to place the viewer at their height. Almost identical hats and dresses unite the children, but their gestures remain distinct. The seaside scene thus becomes a study of the seriousness with which the children inhabit the game.
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#9The bath
The Child's Bath, painted in 1893, takes up the bird's eye view and the flat areas admired by Cassatt in Japanese prints. The woman's arms surround the child while the basin, pitcher and carpet strips close the space around the gesture. Preserved at the Art Institute of Chicago, the work elevates daily care to the rank of monumental composition without erasing its physical precision.
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#10Boat trip
Painted during a stay in Antibes in 1893 -1894, the painting places a woman and a child facing a rower whose dark back almost blocks the image. The yellow sail and the blue of the sea simplify the space into large shapes. Cassatt reverses the conventions of the leisure scene: the family is not offered to the eye, it is engaged in a crossing whose instability the spectator shares.
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#11Sun lounger with three figures
In this oil from 1898 -1899, two women and a child are gathered outside under a light which erases the too firm contours. The horizontal composition articulates the three bodies without transforming them into a posed group. Known from the catalog raisonné and a documented Sotheby's sale, the work shows Cassatt's ambition for large-format family scenes and colorful shadows.
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#12Mother and Child (The Oval Mirror)
Around 1899, Cassatt brought a mother and her child together in front of an oval mirror which discreetly evokes the halos of the Virgin and Child. However, nothing is solemn: the child is naked, mobile, and the kiss belongs to daily care. The Metropolitan Museum's canvas renews an ancient iconography by anchoring it in a modern interior and in a physical relationship observed without emphasis.
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#13Mother and child
In this Mother and Child from 1889, kept in Cincinnati, the baby leans against the woman in an interior crossed by light. Cassatt brings the profiles together and makes hand contact the emotional center of the image. The window and the light keys, however, prevent the embrace from closing: the air circulates around the bodies and maintains the scene in the present time.
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#14Maternal caress
Painted around 1902, Maternal Caress shows a child hugging a woman's neck. Cassatt avoids the smile addressed to the viewer and concentrates the image on the pressure of the arms, the inclination of the heads and the weight of the body. Preserved at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the painting belongs to a period where the artist studies the reciprocity of gesture, and not a motherhood reduced to the ideal.
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#15Breakfast in bed
A woman and a little girl share the same bed in this 1897 painting kept in Huntington style. The child looks towards us while the adult still seems to be held back by sleep. Sheets, pillows and white shirts envelop the two bodies without confusing them. Cassatt observes waking up as a moment of transition where closeness, fatigue and attention coexist without fabricated narrative.
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#16Woman and child (LACMA)
This Woman and Child, painted in the late 19th or early 20th century, is deliberately left to different degrees of completion. LACMA emphasizes that rough passages, cobalt lines and friction are as much a part of the subject as the embrace. Cassatt thus makes his method visible: the faces are constructed with precision while the rest retain the energy of the research.
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#17Mother and two children - 1901
In Mother and Two Children, dated 1901, the woman's red clothing visually brings together the two little girls placed on either side. The painting does not tell a specific episode; rather, it studies the way in which three bodies occupy the same care space. The bright color prevents the scene from sinking into uniform softness and gives the group real architecture.
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#18Woman on striped sofa with a dog
Painted around 1876 and kept at the Harvard Art Museums, this woman sitting on a striped sofa turns her body slightly while a small dog rests next to her. The animal and the relaxed pose distance the portrait from the official pageantry. The piece of furniture, treated as a series of bands and curves, structures the image and reveals Cassatt's early interest in non-ceremonial attitudes.
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#19Sara gives the baby a toy
At Hill-Stead Museum, this 1901 painting shows Sara handing a toy to a baby sitting on a woman's lap. Three ages and three directions of gaze organize the scene. Cassatt is less interested in the object than in the passage of attention between figures: the older child learns a gesture of care, while the adult discreetly maintains the balance of the group.
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#20Mother styling her child's hair
Dated 1879, this painting transforms a child's hairstyle into a central action. The mother's hands, locks and inclined head make up a small healing mechanism where no character poses. Cassatt chooses a gesture that is often invisible in official painting and gives it a firm structure. The proximity of the figures announces the major toilet scenes that she will then develop.
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#21Lydia in front of a tapestry loom
Lydia Cassatt worked in front of a tapestry loom in 1881. The wooden frame cuts and organizes the canvas, while Lydia's profile and her hands remain absorbed by the work. Preserved at the Flint Institute of Arts, this painting does not present textiles as a decorative pastime: it makes visible the concentration, the repetition of the gesture and the material presence of work accomplished in the interior.
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#22Lilac at a window
Around 1880, Cassatt painted a bouquet of lilacs placed in front of a greenhouse window. This rare still life, kept at the Metropolitan Museum, associates flowers with a bright exterior rather than a closed background. The branches overflow from the vase and contradict any decorative symmetry. The branches overflow from the vase and contradict any decorative symmetry. The work shows that his impressionism does not depend only on the figures: light, glass, foliage and air are enough to produce a living scene.
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#23Young women picking fruit
Painted in 1891, this large composition brings together women who pick and present fruit. The gesture can be read as an image of transmission and maturity, themes that Cassatt will develop in the mural dedicated to Modern Women for Chicago in 1893. The Carnegie Museum's canvas combines collective work, plant decor and allegorical ambition without abandoning the observation of bodies.
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#24Girl fixing her hair
A young woman raises her arms to arrange her hair in this 1886 canvas. The gesture frames the face and moves the entire composition upwards, while the blue bodice serves as a stable mass. Edgar Degas owned the work, now at the National Gallery of Art. She reveals their common interest in toiletries, but without reducing the model to an intimate spectacle.
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#25Young girl at the window
Around 1885, a young woman in a light dress sits in front of a balustrade, a small dog on her knees. The window opens onto a blue city, but the model remains absorbed in her own space. Preserved at the National Gallery of Art, the canvas contrasts the calm of the pose with a moving touch and makes the window a border between protected interior and exterior world.
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See this reproduction →Care, bathing, games, sleep and family actions are becoming big topics.
#26Portrait of Mrs Sisley
Painted in 1873 on cardboard, this portrait of Madame Sisley belongs to the years when Cassatt was still looking for his place between Salon and independent painting. The face in profile, the dark cap and the brown background produce a presence without narrative accessories. The small scale and light support favor direct execution, attentive to the skin tones rather than the social representation of the model.
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#27On the balcony
Made in Seville in 1873, this balcony scene brings together two women whose costumes and attitudes contrast. Cassatt then worked in Spain, where she studied Velazquez and local painting. The balcony is not a simple picturesque setting: its balustrade places figures between street and interior, public gaze and private conversation, announcing his future lodge scenes.
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#28Portrait of an Italian lady
Dated 1879 and kept at the Gilcrease Museum, this portrait shows an Italian lady with great sobriety. The clothing and hairstyle situate the model, but Cassatt avoids making it an exotic type. The face, slightly turned away, retains its psychological autonomy. The canvas belongs to the moment when the artist asserts, with the impressionists, a more immediate presence than the academic portrait.
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#29Mary Ellison Embroiderer
Mary Ellison is depicted embroidering, circa 1877. The needle and the work give a precise function to the hands, avoiding the artificial immobility of the portrait. The face remains carefully constructed while the background and dress are released in more visible touches. Cassatt thus transforms a domestic activity coded as feminine into a study of concentration and gestural mastery.
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#30Portrait of Madame X dressed for the morning
Painted in 1877, Madame X dressed for the morning is installed on a sofa, dressed in black and with her hair done for going out. Preserved at the North Carolina Museum of Art, the canvas captures less of a social rank than a moment of preparation. The contrast between the dark outfit, the light face and the red seat gives the model calm authority, without overload of accessories.
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#31Read "Le Figaro"
Cassatt depicts his mother reading Le Figaro in 1878. The newspaper hides a part of the body and points out an informed woman, engaged in current events rather than busy appearing. The tight framing, light dress and printed folds build the image around the act of reading. This important work makes written culture an attribute of feminine autonomy.
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#32Portrait of young woman in white hat
In this 1879 portrait, the large white hat is not a secondary accessory: it illuminates the face and contrasts its light shape with the black garment. Cassatt keeps the background almost bare so that the attitude of the model and the sharpness of the gaze are sufficient. The work testifies to its ability to reconcile contemporary elegance with an observation that refuses worldly idealization.
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#33Portrait of a little girl
Painted in 1879 and kept at the Bordeaux Museum of Fine Arts, this portrait of a little girl tells neither game nor virtue. The face and headdress occupy most of a small vertical format, while the background remains light. Cassatt thus grants the child model the same density of presence as an adult, without transforming her age into a symbol of innocence.
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#34On a balcony
On a balcony, painted in 1878 -1879 and kept in Chicago, shows a woman reading or examining an object in front of a railing. The exterior plans, plants and light clothing overlap without stable academic depth. The painting places private activity in contact with the city and makes the balcony an intermediate observatory, neither entirely domestic nor fully public.
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#35Young girl in the garden
A young girl in a white dress sews or reads in a garden around 1880. Preserved at the Musée d'Orsay, the canvas mixes the whites of the clothing with the greens and pinks of the outdoors. Cassatt does not detach the model like a silhouette placed in front of the landscape: the light circulates between the body, the chair and the flowers, giving calm attention an atmospheric quality.
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#36Embroidering
Lydia Cassatt sits in a garden, her work in her hands, circa 1880. The stripes of her clothing and the light parasol respond to the foliage, while the face remains concentrated. At the Metropolitan Museum, this canvas shows how Cassatt associates textile work with the outdoors: the precise gesture remains the fixed point of an environment crossed by light.
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#37Autumn, portrait of Lydia Cassatt
Painted around 1880, Autumn shows Lydia Cassatt in profile, wrapped in a dark coat and red hat. The red tones of the landscape extend her clothing without dissolving her face. Preserved at the Petit Palais, the work is not a conventional seasonal allegory: autumn becomes a lived atmosphere, linked to Lydia's fragility and the proximity between the two sisters.
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#38Susan sitting in a garden
Susan sits in a garden around 1882, wearing a dark hat that stands out among the foliage. Cassatt passes the greens and reds from the background into the garment, so that the portrait fully belongs to the outdoors. The expression is not theatrical; she maintains the restraint of a moment observed between two gestures.
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#39Portrait of a woman
This 1872 portrait shows a woman in a dark dress, standing or sitting against a poorly defined background. Cassatt concentrates the light on the face and hands, letting the garment be constructed in large masses. The absence of a certain identity suggests not inventing a biography: the interest lies in the confident posture and in the transition from an academic style to a freer surface.
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#40Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt and his son, Robert Kelso Cassatt
In 1884, Cassatt painted his brother Alexander, future president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with his son Robert Kelso. The boy stands near the father rather than on his lap, and their gazes diverge. Kept in Philadelphia, the painting renews the male family portrait: it replaces the attributes of power with a close relationship, observed inward.
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#41Portrait of an elderly lady
Around 1887, Cassatt represents an elderly woman without attenuating the marks of time. The hat, the black dress and the hand placed on the armchair form a sober structure, while the face receives the most attentive light. Preserved at the National Gallery of Art, the portrait opposes decorative images of old age and affirms a fully present individuality.
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#42Portrait of a young girl
This young girl is caught in front of a green background with a hat and a dress which take up almost as much space as the face. Cassatt uses the large shapes of the garment to avoid the miniature portrait and give the body a real seat. The expression remains indecisive, between attention and withdrawal, which preserves the model's inner life beyond her outfit.
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#43Spring: Margot standing in a garden (Girl in a garden)
Around 1900, Margot stood in a garden, dressed in a light dress and wearing a large black hat. The Metropolitan Museum preserves this canvas where the child is not isolated from trees and flowers: his costume responds to the decor in masses of color. The title Spring combines growth and season without resorting to a strong allegory.
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#44Portrait of Reine LeFebvre holding a naked baby
Reine Lefebvre holds a naked baby in this 1902 -1903 oil kept at the Worcester Art Museum. The child's body, turned towards her, breaks the frontality of the portrait. Cassatt makes the baby's actual weight and the way the woman supports him the heart of the composition. The scene is constructed, but it retains the physical tension of a child that is difficult to immobilize.
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#45Study of an elderly woman with a hat, red background
In this 1887 oil kept at the Birmingham Museum of Art, a dense red background surrounds the face of an elderly woman in a hat. Cassatt uses this contrast to avoid any anecdote and focus attention on expression. The clean touches of the garment and background do not soften the age; they give the model a pictorial energy rarely given to older figures.
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#46In the garden
Painted in 1903 -1904 and kept at the Detroit Institute of Arts, this garden scene brings a woman and a little girl together in the middle of large flat greens. The bench and vegetation frame the group without enclosing it. Cassatt observes the relationship through the tilts of the heads and the gaps in gaze: affection is present, but never reduced to a demonstrative pose.
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#47Denise to her hairdresser
Denise sits in front of her dressing table around 1908, a round mirror behind her and a small mirror in her hand. Cassatt constructs a play of images without making washing a free spectacle. At the Metropolitan Museum, the canvas shows a woman absorbed in her own gesture. Reflections expand the space and question the way appearance is composed.
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#48Antoinette to her hairdresser
Painted around 1909, Antoinette at her dressing table takes up the mirror motif with a more intense red and brown palette. The model tilts her head and holds a mirror at face height, while a second dark circle structures the background. Cassatt does not tell the story of coquetry: she studies a woman's concentration on her own image and the geometry of reflections.
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#49Two little sisters
Around 1901 -1902, Cassatt brought two little girls together until their neighboring faces were the main event of the painting. The white dresses almost blend into the touch, while the expressions remain clearly differentiated. Known from a documented Christie's sale, this oil shows how the artist can condense a double portrait without decoration or anecdote, while retaining two distinct personalities.
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#50Woman sitting with a child in her arms
This seated woman holds a naked child against her, near a chair back and toiletries. The composition emphasizes balance: one arm supports the weight of the body, the other organizes contact. Painted in oil and kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the work transforms a temporary pose into architecture of curves, blues and whites.
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See this reproduction →Theater, tea, omnibus, gardens and walks make up a modernity observed up close.
#51Katherine Kelso Cassatt
Katherine Kelso Cassatt is depicted in a light dress, sitting in front of a flowery interior. The portrait belongs to Cassatt's vast family ensemble, which allowed him to observe his models without the appearance of an official commission. The calm face, hands and folds of the skirt are enough to build a presence; the decor remains secondary, like a colored envelope.
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#52Offer the Panal to the bullfighter
Painted in Seville in 1873, this scene shows a young woman offering the bullfighter a panal, a honey treat consumed after the fight. Kept at the Clark Art Institute, it belongs to Cassatt's Spanish stay. The picturesque subject allows him to study powerful blacks, reds and whites, but also an exchange of glances that avoids simple folk illustration.
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#53After the bullfight
In After the Bullfight, painted in 1873, a bullfighter drinks with concentration, isolated from the arena and the spectacle. Cassatt chooses the aftermath rather than the heroic action: the costume remains dazzling, but the man is reduced to a gesture of fatigue. Preserved at the Art Institute of Chicago, the painting reveals his early interest in the private moments hidden behind public roles.
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#54Spanish dancer wearing a lace mantilla
Made in 1873 and kept at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, this Spanish dancer wears a lace mantilla that frames her face. Cassatt accurately treats black, white and transparency without letting the costume absorb the individuality of the model. The direct gaze and firm posture transform a fashionable Spanish subject into a real portrait.
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#55Music (musical festival)
The Music, painted in 1874, belongs to early works still linked to the Salon. Two figures look at a score in a dark light reminiscent of old masters. Preserved at the Petit Palais, this oil on paper shows Cassatt before the impressionist palette: the scholarly subject, the tight composition and the deep browns already reveal his interest in shared attention.
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#56Ida
Ida, painted in 1874, appears wearing yellow and green fabric whose folds surround a very light face. Cassatt returns from his Spanish stay with a reinforced taste for contrasts and textures. The precise identity of the model is less documented than its pictorial presence: the look, slightly diverted, resists the transformation of the costume into simple exoticism.
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#57Girl's head
This 1870s girl's head isolates the bust in front of a dark background. The light touches of the dress and face stand out without a rigid outline, giving the portrait the appearance of a quickly carried out but firmly constructed study. Cassatt uses this tight format to capture an expression rather than to accumulate social signs of an identity.
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#58Eddy Cassatt (Edward Buchanan Cassatt)
In 1875, Cassatt painted his nephew Edward Buchanan, known as Eddy, standing in a red suit with a large dog at his side. Preserved at the National Gallery of Art, the painting borrows from the portrait of an aristocratic child while making it more direct. The massive presence of the dog and the slight stiffness of the boy introduce a tension between expected role and real personality.
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#59Mrs. Duffee sitting on a striped couch, reading
Madame Duffee reads on a striped sofa in this 1876 canvas kept in Boston. The strips of furniture, cushion and dress organize an almost abstract interior, while the book absorbs the model. Cassatt refuses contact with the spectator: intellectual activity becomes the true presentation of the woman, more eloquent than the accessories of a worldly portrait.
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#60The reader
The Reader, painted in 1877 and kept at Crystal Bridges, shows a woman entirely absorbed in a book. Cassatt makes reading a space of autonomy: the model does not make itself available to the outside eye. The large white armchair, the light dress and the open volume form a silent composition where time seems measured by the progression of the pages.
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#61Woman with a fan
In Woman with a Fan, circa 1878 -1879, the face is partially reflected in a mirror while the open fan occupies the foreground. Preserved at the National Gallery of Art, the canvas combines fashion accessory and eye construction. The model is not reduced to the elegance of her outfit: her pose and expression maintain a critical distance from the viewer.
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#62A mother about to wash her sleeping child
Painted in 1880, Mother Preparing to Wash Her Sleeping Child is considered one of Cassatt's first large modern maternity wards. At LACMA, the woman supports the sleeping baby in front of a pitcher and a basin. The artist replaces religious iconography with a concrete task and makes the child's weight, fatigue and care the very meaning of the painting.
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#63Alexander J. Cassatt
Around 1880, Cassatt painted his brother Alexander sitting by a window, newspaper or papers in hand. The Detroit Institute of Arts preserves this portrait where the future railway executive is not defined by a decor of power. The exterior light, the relaxed pose and the reading objects rather give the image of a man captured in his daily activity.
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#64Little girl in the big red hat
Painted in 1881 and kept at the Princeton University Art Museum, this little girl wears a large red hat which almost dominates the small format. Cassatt uses the contrast between the headgear, the pale face and the blue background to construct the child's presence. The reserved expression avoids the disguise effect and maintains a tension between imposing costume and vulnerability of the model.
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#65A woman and a girl behind the wheel
A woman holds the guides of a car in the Bois de Boulogne, accompanied by a little girl and a man relegated to the back. Painted in 1881 and kept in Philadelphia, the canvas discreetly reverses the usual roles: a woman drives and controls public space. The horse cut, the body seen up close and the lateral movement give the scene an almost photographic modernity.
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#66Susan comforting the baby
In 1881, Susan leaned toward a baby sitting on her lap. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston preserves this canvas where consolation can be read in the inclination of the face and the proximity of the hands, not in a theatrical expression. The garden sketched behind them lightens the scene and lets the gesture of care retain all its precision.
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#67In a dressing room
Painted in 1879, this scene known in English as In the Box shows two young women in a theater box. One observes the scene while the other turns more towards the room. The bare shoulders, bouquet and reflected balconies make up a complex sociability space. Cassatt thus distinguishes several feminine ways of looking and being looked at.
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#68Young girls
The Young Girls, painted around 1885 and kept at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, bring two sisters dressed in white together in front of a green background. Their heads almost touch, but the looks do not coincide. Cassatt uses this slight divergence to avoid the double decorative portrait: family proximity does not erase the psychological singularity of each.
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#69The child in the straw hat
Around 1886, a child in a straw hat stands in front of a light background. The National Gallery of Art preserves this oil where the silhouette remains simple and almost frontal. Cassatt does not overload either the decor or the expression; she lets the hat, dress and hand position define a presence that is both serious and slightly hesitant.
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#70Mrs. Robert S. Cassatt, the artist's mother
In 1889, Cassatt painted his mother, Katherine Kelso Johnston Cassatt, seated in a black and white dress. Preserved at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the portrait refuses any worldly embellishment. The hand placed near the face, the armchair and the light background give the model intellectual and family authority, nourished by the long proximity between the painter and her mother.
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#71Hélène is agitated
Hélène is Restless, circa 1890, shows a child curled up in an armchair, his body crossed by a tension that the title makes explicit. Preserved at the Portland Museum of Art, the work moves away from docile childhood: Cassatt observes impatience, fatigue or discomfort. The quick touches around the dress and seat amplify this inner movement.
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#72Woman with a red zinnia
Painted in 1891, this woman holds a red zinnia which concentrates color in the center of a light composition. At the National Gallery of Art, the flower dialogues with the lips, the belt and the accents of the garden. Cassatt, however, avoids the purely decorative portrait: the raised arm, the look away and the close framing give the model a presence independent of the ornament.
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#73The family
The Family, painted around 1892 and kept at the Chrysler Museum of Art, brings together a woman, two little girls and a naked baby. The figures form a dense triangle, but their gaze circulates rather than focusing on the viewer. Cassatt transforms the family group into a study of relationships: the youngest child attracts attention without erasing the personalities of the women and girls around him.
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#74Jules wiped by his mother
Painted around 1900, this oil shows Jules drying his mother after bathing. The towel, the naked body and the interlocking arms make up a precise action, not a pose. Cassatt is interested in the practical difficulty of care: supporting the child, wrapping him and continuing the gesture. The scene continues his research into washing while maintaining freer energy in the touch.
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#75Child picking fruit
In Child Picking a Fruit, painted in 1893 and kept at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a baby is lifted to a branch. The outstretched arm, the fruit and the foliage organize a vertical of desire and learning. Cassatt transforms a small action into an image of discovery: the adult makes the object accessible without performing the gesture in place of the child.
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#76Young Mother sewing
Painted in 1900, Young Mother Sewing brings together two models that were not related, despite the family role suggested by the title. The little girl leans abruptly against the woman's knee, who steps back slightly without abandoning her work. At the Metropolitan Museum, this encounter between sewing, childish movement and flower garden shows how Cassatt gives a domestic incident the liveliness of a modern scene.
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#77Summer
Summer, painted in 1894 and kept at the Hammer Museum, shows two women in a boat among ducks and reflections. The surface of the water occupies almost the entire canvas, dissolving the bank and stable landmarks. Cassatt transforms a walk into a study of moving light; the figures remain absorbed by the pool rather than arranged for a portrait.
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#78Ellen Mary in a white coat
Ellen Mary Cassatt was depicted in 1896 in a loose white coat that almost completely enveloped her small body. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston preserves this canvas where the garment forms an architecture of folds, ribbons and dark edges. Cassatt contrasts this ceremonial mass with the direct gaze of the child, who resists the transformation into an elegant doll.
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#79Mother and child (baby getting up from his nap)
Around 1899, a mother helped her child get up after a nap. At the Metropolitan Museum, the gesture of grooming and awakening replaces any spectacular narration. Cassatt had achieved great mastery of motherhood: the plunging framing, rich colors and tight space give the baby's movement a monumental scale. It was the artist's first painting to enter the Met collection.
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#80Young Woman in green in the sun
Painted around 1914, this young woman in green belongs to Cassatt's last works, the sight of which would soon force him to stop painting. The hat, bodice and landscape bring several greens together in a clear light, while the face remains solidly modeled. Long preserved at the Worcester Art Museum, the canvas shows a late artist still attentive to the outdoors and individual presence.
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#81Sara with a dark hat with her right hand on the arm of a chair
Around 1901, Sara sat with a dark hat, her right hand placed on the arm of the armchair. Preserved at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, this oil uses the seat and clothing to stabilize a childish model that does not appear completely still. The attentive look and the touch left visible give Sara the presence of a person, not an emblem of childhood.
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#82Sara in the green hat
Sara in the green cap, painted around 1901 and kept at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, focuses the portrait on the face framed in green, blue and orange. The bold colors belong to Cassatt's late period. The light smile does not transform the child into a sweet image: the frontality and tight construction give him remarkable confidence.
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#83The caress
The Caress, painted around 1902 and kept at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, shows a woman surrounded by two children, one of whom kisses her. The bodies fit together in a very tight space, but Cassatt maintains the readability of each gesture. The work treats affection as a circulation between several people, and not as a single pose intended to move.
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#84Simone in the blue hat
Around 1903, Simone wore a blue hat whose feathers and ribbons were painted with great freedom. The RISD Museum describes this unfinished portrait as a demonstration of economy: a firm line is enough at the edge of the hat, a few touches shape the face. Cassatt leaves the creation of the image visible and grabs the child without freezing it under the finish.
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#85Simone with the blue hat (n° 1)
This other Simone with the blue hat, also around 1903, is kept at the San Diego Museum of Art. It does not constitute a duplicate: the pose, the hat and the state of completion differ. Cassatt uses the same model to study a new organization of blues, pinks and whites. The comparison reveals its method of variations rather than a commercial repetition of the motif.
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#86The child
Painted around 1905 and kept at the Speed Art Museum, The Child shows a naked baby standing against a cushion or backrest. The unstable posture makes learning balance visible. Cassatt simplifies the decor so that the feet, arms and weight of the torso become the real subject. The image celebrates innocence less than the physical autonomy being built.
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#87Sunflower woman
In Woman with a Sunflower, circa 1905, a woman and a little girl look at the child's reflection in a hand mirror, while a second mirror redoubles them. At the National Gallery of Art, the bright sunflower first catches the eye, but the deep subject is learning to look at oneself. Cassatt thus links motherhood, construction of feminine identity and educational responsibility.
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#88Bust of a woman in a white bodice
Around 1905, Cassatt painted this bust of a woman in a white bodice with a broad touch that lets the background breathe. The face is more constructed than the sleeves and the clothing, creating a contrast between identity and material. The absence of a narrative accessory prevents the model from inventing a story: the strength of the painting comes from its attitude and the light that passes through the whites.
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#89Children playing with a dog
Painted around 1907, this scene brings together several children around a dog. Cassatt observes a collective game where the animal becomes an unpredictable partner, forcing gestures and looks to move. The composition avoids the tidy line of a family portrait: each child occupies a different relationship with the dog, which gives the group its lively rhythm.
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#90Mother and child with a pink scarf
Mother and child with a pink scarf, painted in 1908 and kept at the Metropolitan Museum, uses the fabric to connect the two bodies. The baby turns to the woman while pink circulates between clothing, skin and background. Cassatt maintains a loose construction despite the intimate subject; the scarf becomes color, envelope and line of movement at the same time.
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#91Mother and child
This late Mother and child places the baby on a woman's lap, in front of a red and green background left very free. The eyes meet and give the painting its main axis. Cassatt still varies a long-worked theme: the position of the hands, the angle of the body and the ratio of colors distinguish this composition from its other maternity wards.
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#92Le Bain (Two mothers and their children in a boat)
Le Bain, painted in 1910 and kept at the Petit Palais, brings together two young women and two children in a boat, ready for swimming. The large horizontal format, haute couture dresses and naked bodies build an ambitious scene. Cassatt remains faithful to impressionism late, but here orders the figures with an almost classic stability above the water.
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#93Sara holding a cat
Painted around 1907 -1908, Sara Holding a Cat shows the little girl squeezing the animal as a mother would carry a child. The Smithsonian lists the work as oil on canvas, and its sales history confirms the title. Cassatt combines tenderness and role play: Sara imitates an adult gesture, while the cat introduces the unpredictability of a living model.
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#94Woman in red bodice and her child
Dated 1901 and kept at the Brooklyn Museum, this woman in the red bodice holds a naked child against her. Red gives a powerful framework to the composition and prevents the scene from dissolving into tender tones. Cassatt brings faces together without confusing them; the contact is affectionate, but each figure retains its direction of gaze and its weight.
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#95Mother and child in the greenhouse
Painted in 1906 and kept at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Mother and Child in the Greenhouse combines the figures with vegetation and filtered light. The decor is not a simple background: leaves, uprights and colors envelop the group while opening the space. Cassatt transforms the greenhouse into an intermediate environment between domestic intimacy and the outside world.
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#96Children playing with a cat
Dated 1908, this painting brings children together around a dark-coated cat. The hands converge towards the animal, which becomes the center of a silent negotiation between curiosity, caress and restraint. Cassatt avoids the aligned portrait: differences in age and posture organize a mobile group, where common attention replaces pose.
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#97Little girl with a hat tied with a large pink ribbon
Around 1909, a little girl wore a hat tied with a very large pink ribbon. Cassatt uses this accessory as a pictorial structure: the knot frames the face and distributes the light masses around it. The expression remains reserved, which prevents the image from becoming a simple fashion study. The painting contrasts the fragility of the face with the almost architectural scale of the hat.
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#98Mother Rose looking at her sleeping baby
Painted in 1908 and kept at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Mother Rose watching her sleeping baby shifts all the action toward the woman's gaze. Sleep makes the child's body heavy and abandoned, while the arms provide support. Cassatt transforms stillness into an active relationship: watching, carrying and looking constitute the true story here.
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#99Head of Jules
This Head of Jules, painted in 1899, is an oil study linked to the many children who then posed for Cassatt. The tightened format almost eliminates the body and decor in order to capture a brief expression. The keys remain visible around the face, but the eyes and mouth are firmly placed. The work reveals how the artist prepared his more ambitious compositions without losing the liveliness of the model.
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#100Mother and child (Wichita)
Painted in 1890 and housed at the Wichita Art Museum, this Mother and Child shows a woman sitting by a window, holding a sleeping or soothed baby. The exterior light runs along the mother's profile and isolates the embrace from the rest of the room. Cassatt combines the modern pattern of the interior with an almost timeless construction, without sacrificing the concrete details of the treatment.
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See this reproduction →Editorial method
Three selection criteria
The selection only includes oil paintings attributed to Mary Cassatt. Alternative titles, visual repetitions, prints, pastels, gouaches and watercolors have been excluded. Each notice was written for the corresponding work.
Major works
Lodges, tea, baths, maternity wards, portraits and childhood scenes.
Diversity
Family, leisure, washing, reading, gardens and modern life.
Control
One hundred titles, one hundred images and one hundred unique links, verified before publication.
Sources and links
A controlled selection work by work
Identifications, dates, techniques, collections and interpretive elements have been verified in the catalogs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other institutions preserving the works.
Frequently asked questions
Read Mary Cassatt
Some references on the artist, the works and the method.
Why is Mary Cassatt essential?
Because she made modern life, motherhood, childhood and the feminine gaze major impressionist subjects.
Do the images come from the store?
Yes. The 100 images and 100 links open the corresponding Alpha Reproduction files.
Is there a slideshow?
No. The page is static to keep the 100 cards visible and controllable.
Does the classification contain prints or pastels?
No. This revised version only retains oil paintings attributed to Mary Cassatt.
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