Mary Cassatt was determined to become a painter, even though her father objected. At the age of 16 she began pursuing her dream. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy, but the formal education that they provided did not please her. Mary was a very independent person and decided to head to Europe to further her studies.
While in Europe she studied the work of famous artists such as Rubens and Correggio. Her art began to take on a new form. One that was less rigid. In 1872 her first painting was exhibited in Paris at the Paris Salon. Two years later, famed artist Edgar Degas, viewed one of Mary's paintings at the Salon. The type of painting that she did is known as "impressionism," and Degas was one of the most famous impressionists of the time. He admired her painting and praised her for her attention to detail and the boldness of her work.
She went to work with Degas and learned from him. His influence is easily seen in some of Mary's later pieces. She received good reviews from critics in Paris, but back in her home country, America, she was barely heard of.
Cassatt's mother, father, and sister came to live with her in Paris. They often served as models for her paintings. They were living comfortably in the country of Paris.
In 1876 the first of Cassatt's paintings was exhibited in America. She became the first Impressionist painter to have her paintings shown in the U.S. She also helped introduce America to other Impressionists such as Degas and Gaugin.
Some of her most well-known paintings include a mural depicting Modern Woman that she created for the Woman's Building of the Columbian Exposition that she completed in 1893. She often painted a scene of a woman and child, but changed the scale, setting, or mood. She was America's first famous woman painter.
She spent her last days in France and died on June 14, 1926.
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