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Entity shares the life of Mary Cassatt.

In our ongoing series #WomenThatDid, ENTITY profiles inspirational and famous women in history whose impact on our world can still be felt today. If you have a suggestion for a historical powerhouse you would like to see featured, tweet us with the hashtag #WomenThatDid. 

NAME: Mary Cassatt

LIFETIME: May 22, 1844 – June 14, 1926

WHAT SHE IS KNOWN FOR: Mary Cassatt, one of the famous women in history, was an American painter and printmaker. Born in Pennsylvania, she spent most of her life in Paris, where she befriended Edgar Degas. Her artwork focused on the social and private lives of women, specifically the bond between mother and child.

WHY WE LOVE HER: She grew up in household that valued education, especially travel as education. Because of this Mary spent five of her formative years in Europe. There she was exposed to French artists. At the 1855 Paris World’s Fair, she saw the works of Degas and Pablo Pissarro, who would later become her mentors and friends. Her family objected to her plans to become an artist, but despite this, she began classes at the Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia when she was 15 years old.

After four years of study, she convinced her father to let her move to Paris, with her mother and sister as chaperones. In Paris she began studying under a master and went to the Louvre where she painted classics as a copyist. In 1868 she became one of two American women painters to have their works accepted at the exclusive Paris Salon. For the next ten years, she continued to submit her work to the Salon. She returned to Pennsylvania in 1870, where she was determined to make an independent living. The archbishop of Pittsburgh commissioned her and sent her to Italy, where her prospects changed.

Following some brief time of travel, she returned to Paris, where she opened her own studio. In 1877 Degas invited her to show her work with the Impressionists. She accepted and began preparing for the show. From then, the pair worked together extensively. By the mid-1880s Mary left the Impressionists behind and refused to confine her work to any art standard. She continued to paint until 1914, when she went nearly blind. Her last show, in 1915, supported the women’s suffrage movement.

FUN FACT: Another reason Mary is one of the famous women in history is that she depicts the life of the “New Woman” experience of the 19th century, as she never married. Much of her artistic influence was drawn from her mother, who believed women should be educated to be knowledgeable and socially active.

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