Mother and Child Smiling at Each Other - Mary Cassatt
Archival giclée
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Description
A tender, impressionist study of a mother and child, capturing an intimate moment through loose brushwork and a warm, expressive colour palette.
Mary Cassatt, an American painter who spent much of her career in France, is widely recognised for her depictions of the social and private lives of women. This work captures a quiet, domestic moment between a mother and her infant. The composition focuses on the intimate connection between the two figures, with the mother gazing down at the child, who looks up in return. Cassatt employs a loose, painterly technique that is characteristic of her later period. The brushwork is visible and energetic, particularly in the rendering of the mother's garment and the surrounding space. The palette is dominated by warm, earthy tones, with a striking orange-red background that provides a contrast to the softer, lighter colours of the figures. The light source appears to come from the left, casting gentle shadows that define the forms of the mother and child without relying on rigid outlines. Unlike many of her contemporaries who focused on urban scenes or leisure activities, Cassatt often turned her attention to the realities of motherhood. She avoids sentimentality, choosing instead to observe the physical interaction and the psychological bond between the subjects. The painting reflects her interest in the influence of Japanese woodblock prints, which often featured asymmetrical compositions and cropped views. By focusing closely on the pair, Cassatt creates a sense of immediacy and presence. This piece is a representative example of her ability to elevate everyday domestic subjects through her command of colour and light, maintaining a balance between observation and artistic expression.
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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. EU customers have a 14-day cooling-off right. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
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.
Mother and Child Smiling at Each Other - Mary Cassatt
Our Features
Designed for Lasting Impact
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
- Choose poster, framed print, canvas or framed canvas
- 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
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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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