Young Girl Reading (Jeune Fille Lisant)
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Bequest, 1981
Accession Number
86.853
About this artwork
Tadamasa Hayashi, Tokyo and Paris, 1913
Art Historical Context
Mary Cassatt's *Young Girl Reading (Jeune Fille Lisant)*, created around 1894, exemplifies the American artist's intimate focus on women and children in everyday moments. Born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in 1844, Cassatt spent much of her career in France, becoming a key figure among the Impressionists. She befriended Edgar Degas and shared the movement's emphasis on natural light, candid poses, and domestic scenes, often rendering them with a tender, psychological depth that elevated ordinary life to poetic beauty. As a drawing—its precise medium unknown—this work highlights Cassatt's m...