Mary Cassatt Child in a Straw Hat Print Framed Double Matted Signed (1886) 21x17

Description: Child in a Straw Hat print (1886) by Mary Cassatt (American, 1844 - 1926) Highlights Professionally framed in gold gilded wood with double mat (Pink/Peach and Off-white) Includes hanging hardware and is ready to hang Details Image Size: 11 x 8 inches Frame Size: 20 3/4 x 16 3/4 x 1 inches Medium: Paper Edition: Open Comments In her frequent depictions of children, Mary Cassatt invested relatively quiet and unexceptional moments with considerable dynamism in handling and composition. Child in a Straw Hat is one of many paintings Cassatt made of little girls appearing to play dress-up. But where Cassatt often portrayed girls taking pleasure in the act of role-playing, here the child’s expression suggests that she is not enjoying herself. Isolated and required to stand still, her demeanor conveys a mixture of pensiveness, frustration, and boredom. While the subject matter captures a languid moment, the paint is handled energetically. Broad, visible brushstrokes are used throughout the composition, forming abstract patterns in some areas, such as the white sleeves of the blouse and smock. The paint was applied quickly and directly to the canvas, in a manner referred to as alla prima, which lends an appearance of spontaneity to the work.Shown from the waist up, a young girl wearing a slate-gray dress and straw hat stands with her hands clasped in front of her in this vertical portrait painting. The girl has light, peachy skin, and her cheeks are lightly flushed. Her body faces us but she tips her head slightly to her right, our left, and looks off into the distance with dark brown eyes. Her faint eyebrows drawn together, and her cherry-red, full lips slightly turn down at the corners. She has a button nose and a rounded chin line. She has dark blond, straight, shoulder-length hair under a wide, flat-brimmed straw hat. The hat is wrapped around the crown with a checkered white and black bow. Her shoulders slope down as she holds one wrist with the other hand down in front of her. She wears a jumper over a shirt with short white sleeves. At first glance the jumper appears pale gray but closer inspection reveals strokes of pale lilac, ivory white, and cobalt blue. The girl’s features and clothing are painted with loose, visible brushstrokes, and the background behind her is painted with vertical strokes of tan blended with faint green. Short dabs of brighter gold and butter yellow give the impression of sunshine on the brim of the hat and in the girl’s hair. The artist signed the work with loose letters in the lower right corner, “Mary Cassatt.” Condition (Please see grading guide below) (I) Overall: Excellent (II) Content: Excellent (III) Frame: Very Good (some dings, dents, scuffs and scratches; Dust cover intact with tear top center and bottom center, punctures right and left lower; hanging hardware attached) Artist Bio Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844–1926), born in Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, spent her early years with her family in France and Germany. From 1860 to 1862, she studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. By 1865, she had convinced her parents to let her study in Paris, where she took private lessons from leading academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, copied works of the old masters, and went sketching. She stayed in Courance and Écouen and studied with Édouard Frère and Paul Soyer. In 1868, Cassatt’s painting The Mandolin Player (private collection) was accepted at the Paris Salon, the first time her work was represented there. After three-and-a-half years in France, the Franco-Prussian War interrupted Cassatt’s studies and she returned to Philadelphia in the late summer of 1870. Cassatt returned to Europe in 1871. She spent eight months in Parma, Italy, in 1872, studying the paintings of Correggio and Parmigianino and working with the advice of Carlo Raimondi, head of the department of engraving at the Parma Academy. In 1873, she visited Spain, Belgium, and Holland to study and copy the works of Velázquez, Rubens, and Hals. In June 1874, Cassatt settled in Paris, where she began to show regularly in the Salons, and where her parents and sister Lydia joined her in 1877. That same year, Edgar Degas invited her to join the group of independent artists later known as the Impressionists. The only American officially associated with the group, Cassatt exhibited in four of their eight exhibitions, in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886. Under their influence, Cassatt revised her technique, composition, and use of color and light, manifesting her admiration for the works of the French avant-garde, especially Degas and Manet. Degas, her chief mentor, provided criticism of her work, offered advice on technique, and encouraged her experiments in printmaking. Like Degas, she was chiefly interested in figure compositions. During the late 1870s and early 1880s, the subjects of her works were her family (especially her sister Lydia), the theater, and the opera. Later she made a specialty of the mother and child theme, which she treated with warmth and naturalness in paintings, pastels, and prints. Cassatt’s role as an advisor to art collectors benefited many public and private collections in the United States. From her early days in Paris, she encouraged the collection of old masters and the French avant-garde. In 1901, she accompanied Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer on a collecting trip in Italy and Spain. Cassatt had known Mrs. Havemeyer before her marriage. In 1873, she had encouraged the then seventeen-year-old Louisine Elder to buy a pastel by Degas, and the two women became close friends. Cassatt was eventually instrumental in shaping the Havemeyer collection, most of which is now in the Metropolitan Museum.Failing eyesight severely curtailed Cassatt’s work after 1900. She gave up printmaking in 1901, and in 1904 stopped painting. She spent most of the war years in Grasse and died in 1926 at her country home, Château de Beaufresne, at Le Mesnil-Théribus, Oise. References https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61367.html https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cast/hd_cast.htm Grading Guide Notes: The condition grade is a subjective rating based on the observed objective physical features of the item to the naked eye The condition grade does not factor in the perceived beauty or aesthetic impact of the content itself Please view all of the item pictures and video to make your own informed condition decision before purchasing Scale: Excellent: No damage or issues barely perceptible from close viewing distance and bright lighting conditions Very Good: Issues visible from close viewing distance and normal lighting conditions Good: Issues visible from normal viewing distance and lighting conditions but do NOT significantly detract from the overall look of the work Fair: Issues that are immediately apparent from normal viewing distance and lighting conditions AND significantly detract from the overall look of the work Poor: Severe condition issues that require repair and some may be beyond repair Buyer Notes Grinding 4 Good does our best to accurately describe the items we offerItems are offered AS IS/AS DESCRIBED to the best of our knowledge, research and abilityThe buyer is expected to view the photos, video and descriptions carefully and ask questions before they purchaseIf you have an issue or question, please contact us via eBay's systemAfter you have received your item, if you are happy with our service and your new purchase please consider leaving us buyers feedback. 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Price: 125 USD

Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2025-01-04T11:00:00.000Z

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