This small collection of sixty-three letters written by painter Mary Cassatt dates from 1882 to 1926. The bulk of these letters are to Cassatt's nephew, Robert Kelso Cassatt, and to his wife Minnie regarding family, mutual friends, and travel. The remaining letters are to friends regarding purchases of artwork, travel, and personal news. There is also one newsclipping of Cassett's obituary.
Scope and Contents:
This small collection of sixty-three letters written by painter Mary Cassatt dates from 1882 to 1926. The bulk of these letters are to Cassatt's nephew, Robert Kelso Cassatt, and to his wife Minnie regarding family, mutual friends, and travel. The remaining letters are to friends regarding purchases of artwork, travel, and personal news. There is also one newsclipping of Cassett's obituary.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Mary Cassatt letters, 1892-1926 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) lived and worked in Paris, France. She is one of the preeminent Impressionists known for her depictions of both the social and domestic lives of women and their children.
Cassatt was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania and began her art studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at the age of sixteen. In 1865, she traveled to Paris to further her art studies under the private tutelage of Jean-Léon Gérôme and Thomas Couture, and augmented these studies with daily copying at the Louve. From 1868 to 1877, she traveled to Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Holland to view and copy the old masters and produced works that were accepted into the Paris Salon. With the encouragement of Edgar Degas, Cassatt began painting in the avant-garde Impressionist style in 1877. For the next ten years, Cassatt exhibited Impressionist paintings to critical international acclaim. After 1887, she began to experiment with other mediums and techniques, though she continued to focus her subject matter on the lives of women and children. Through the 1890s, she became a mentor to young American artists, acted as an advisor to American art collectors, and served as an ambassador for various art institutions. In 1904, she received France's Légion d'Honneur and continued producing works through the 1900s. In 1915, Cassatt stopped painting due to her failing eyesight, and lived in Le Mesnil-Théribus, France until her death in 1926.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Frederick A. Sweet research material on Mary Cassatt and James McNeill Whistler; Nancy Hale research material on Mary Cassatt; the Mary Cassatt collection (reel C1); and the Mary Cassatt correspondence with Emily Sartain (reel 3658).
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N70-77) including letters written by Cassatt to Eugene Vail and Mabel and Mathilde Valet. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Items in this collection are gifts of various donors. The letters to Peter and Vollard were donated by Charles Feinberg in 1955. The letters to William T. Evans, Miss Lamb, and Miss Stillman were transferred from the National Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution in 1980. An obituary and the letters to Robert Kelso Cassatt and his wife Minnie were donated by Alexander J. Cassatt Jr., the great nephew of Mary Cassatt, in 1986.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
