The Artist's Mother - Mary Cassatt
Archival giclée
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Description
A portrait by Mary Cassatt depicting her mother engaged in needlework, rendered in the soft, expressive textures of pastel.
This portrait by Mary Cassatt captures a quiet, domestic moment featuring the artist's mother, Katherine Kelso Johnston Cassatt. Executed in pastel, the work demonstrates the artist's mastery of the medium, which she favoured for its ability to convey soft textures and atmospheric light. The composition focuses on the subject as she engages in needlework, a common activity in Cassatt's depictions of women within the private sphere. A cat rests peacefully on her lap, adding a sense of stillness to the scene.
The colour palette is dominated by the bold, saturated red of the subject's garment, which contrasts with the cool, white fabric of the sewing project and the muted tones of the cat. Cassatt uses the powdery quality of the pastel to create soft transitions between light and shadow, particularly across the face and hands of the sitter. The background remains indistinct, ensuring the viewer's attention stays on the figure and her focused expression.
Mary Cassatt, an American painter who spent much of her career in France, was a central figure among the Impressionists. Her work often explored the lives of women, moving away from the grand historical narratives of the time to document the realities of daily life. This piece reflects her interest in the intimacy of family relationships and the dignity found in ordinary tasks. The handling of the pastel highlights her technical skill, with layered strokes building depth and form without the need for rigid outlines. This print offers a clear view of the artist's approach to light and colour, providing an authentic representation of her late nineteenth-century style.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Artist's Mother - Mary Cassatt
Artist Biography
Mary Cassatt
She grew up in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh), in a prosperous family. She studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where she found the instruction restrictive and the male students hostile. She moved to Paris in 1866, copied old masters in the Louvre, and studied privately with several painters before finding her direction with the Impressionists.
Her subject was women and children in domestic settings: mothers bathing infants, women reading, girls at the opera, women having tea. The subject matter sounds conventional. The treatment is not. She observed her subjects with the same unsentimental attention Degas brought to dancers. The compositions are cropped and angled, influenced by Japanese prints and by Degas's habit of painting people from unexpected viewpoints. Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878) shows a child sprawled across a chair with the boredom and physical abandon that adults rarely notice and painters rarely record.
She never married. She was wealthy enough not to need to sell her work. She used her position and her connections to persuade American collectors, particularly the Havemeyers, to buy Impressionist paintings. The Havemeyer collection, much of it acquired on Cassatt's advice, was donated to the Metropolitan Museum. She shaped the taste of American collectors more than any other single individual.
She developed cataracts and was nearly blind by 1914. She stopped painting. She died in 1926, at eighty-two.
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