Susan in a Straw Bonnet
c. 1883
Medium
Pastel on paper
Dimensions
62.3 × 51.2 cm (24 1/2 × 20 1/8 in.)
Classification
pastel
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
68384
Art Historical Context
Mary Cassatt's *Susan in a Straw Bonnet* (c. 1883) captures an intimate moment of quiet elegance, showcasing the artist's signature focus on women and children in everyday life. As an American Impressionist who lived and worked in Paris, Cassatt was a close associate of Edgar Degas and exhibited with the Impressionists during the 1880s. This pastel portrait likely depicts a family member—possibly her niece—bathed in soft, natural light, reflecting the movement's emphasis on fleeting impressions and domestic scenes that challenged traditional academic art. Rendered in pastel on paper, measurin...
About the Artist
Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker who became the only American artist to exhibit with the French Impressionists. Born to a wealthy Pennsylvania family, she defied social conventions to pursue art professionally, settling permanently in Paris where Edgar Degas invited her to join the Impressionist group in 1877. Her paintings of mothers and children—rendered with Impre...