Mary Cassatt: Painter of Modern Women (World of Art) - Softcover

Cassatt, Mary; Pollock, Griselda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500203172 ISBN 13: 9780500203170

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1998

Synopsis

This groundbreaking new study redefines Mary Cassatt's status in the Parisian avant-garde and in American art, placing her work in the wider context of nineteenth-century feminism and art theory. Admired by Degas--who invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists in 1877--Cassatt brought a New Women's perspective to the theater, drawing room, garden, and studio. Griselda Pollock emphasizes Cassatt's study of Old Masters and interest in Manet's work, and stresses her great influence on the creation of American collections of French modernism. She argues that Cassatt's experimentation with etching and pastels from the late 1880s enabled her to represent women and children without sentiment, but with a deepening awareness of a complex psychological charge. Professor of Social and Critical Histories of Art at the University of Leeds, Griselda Pollock's many books include Old Mistresses: Women, Art, and Ideology (with Roszika Parker).

About this title

Review:

The American painter Mary Cassatt, who rubbed elbows with the impressionists over a century ago, looks ready for a boom, with a big traveling exhibition of her work touring the Chicago Art Institute, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in 1998-1999. It would be difficult to find a more intelligent introductory guide than this one by feminist art critic Griselda Pollock, who teaches social and critical histories at the University of Leeds, England. Pollock's most familiar previous book is Old Mistresses: Women, Art, and Ideology, and she scotches the widespread idea of Mary Cassatt as a soft and wimpy painter of babies, similar to Auguste Renoir, who is also victimized by critics today for his soft female images. Instead, Pollock sees Cassatt as the "painter of modern women" who was unafraid of such tough artistic influences as Degas, Courbet, and Manet. In this clearly written guide, Cassatt's courage shines through, but also her variety. Readers may begin to look at the women and children in the paintings and discern new expressions in their faces, not just the sweet sentiment that has usually been interpreted therein. This is a revelatory book to accompany what looks likely to be a revelatory exhibit. --Benjamin Ivry

About the Author:

GRISELDA POLLOCK is Professor of the Social and Critical Histories of Art, University of Leeds.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0500203172
• ISBN 13: 9780500203170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224