Mary Cassat was born in Pennsylvania with a bad case of 'pencil-mania' so she went to the art school where they try hard to 'train ya', taking advantage of her comfortable middle-class background and drawing hundreds of copies of prints, sculptures (and cheques on the family bank account). Next she went to Europe where she 'did' culture and enjoyed it so much that she settled down in Paris, having her first painting accepted by the Salon in 1868 (it wasn't her first painting ever, just her first acceptance).
In 1877 Mary met Edgar 'Devil Eyes' Degas who thought it would be a good idea for her to begin exhibiting with his arty friends. After being introduced to Mary, the impulsive Impressionists took one look at her exquisite lines, voluptuous modelling and effulgent lyricism and said: 'We'll show ours, if you'll show yours,' and, soon afterwards, they were letting it all hang up.
This was quite lucky for the Impressionists because back home in America Mary had lots of friends and rellies with spare mazuma, especially her brother and some bods called the Havemeyers, whom she convinced life just wouldn't be fulfilled without at least one colonial mansion full of 'genuwine' French art.
In 1888 Mary began her works depicting mothers and infants in intimate domestic settings that are such a lyrical and evocative testimony to the unique bond between child and parent (and a really useful reminder to young mums on how important it is to keep children clean). Mary lived in France for the rest of her life, growing to love her adopted country more and more (but bitterly regretting that the place was full of Frenchmen).
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