Untitled Document

In 1872 Mary Cassatt exhibited her work in the Paris Salon, where it attracted the attention of Edgar Degas, who introduced her to the Impressionists, with whom she exhibited several times. Cassatt shared with the Impressionists an interest in everyday scenes and is primarily known for her intimate depictions of women, children, and family members.

At the time this portrait was painted, Alexander Cassatt was first vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the most powerful executives in the country. The businessman is seen absorbed in his thoughts, not in the least aware that he is being painted by his sister. Leaning back in his chair, he reveals perhaps a touch of farsightedness as he examines something in his left hand. The portrait suggests both the humanity and reserve that were attributed to Alexander.

In the Garden belongs to a group of pastels, drawings, and paintings done after 1900 and based upon children living in the village near the artist's home in France. Her practice with these child models was to use them again and again so they became accustomed to her and to the demands of posing. The composition has several features common to Impressionism: the high vantage point, the extension of the ground almost to the top of the canvas, the placement of the cropped figures in the immediate foreground, and the bold juxtaposition of the figures and the background.

In 1895 Hassam sailed on a pleasure trip from New York to Cuba aboard a friend's yacht. On his arrival in Havana, he immediately made studies of Fort Cabanas and other colorful subjects. Taken from a high vantage point--the view from his hotel--Place Centrale describes the palpable heat of a tropical noon. The painting incorporates many of the techniques of Hassam's European Impressionist colleagues: spontaneous brushwork and broken colors, a cropped viewpoint, and unexpected angles of vision. Barely visible among the typically Impressionist blue shadows of the trees are a number of sketchily rendered figures.

Woman Sewing is typical of the work that Paxton was doing after 1910 when he turned his attention to the middle and servant classes. The model for this was a favorite of Paxton's who appears in many other canvases. As with Dutch painting of the 17th century, which he greatly admired, there are often paintings within the painting that have a common relationship with the subject. Here, the painting on the wall is an earlier work employing the same model.

Benson's portrait of his eldest daughter, Elisabeth, eloquently summarizes the artist's interests during the early 20th century--the exploration of outdoor light and the depiction of lively, radiant, young womanhood. Although Benson used a camera in his working process, he idealized his subjects when he transferred them to canvas. The images of his daughters in outdoor light remain the quintessential vision of American womanhood at the turn of the century. Benson's depictions of his daughters received attention from contemporary critics who saw in them "a new type something of the character of a fine-blooded racehorse, long in its lines, clean cut, spare of flesh . . . a product of intensive breeding."