Booklist Review
Mathews provides detailed coverage of Cassatt's life and her development as an artist in the insightful essay that accompanies this inspiring collection of reproductions of her paintings and sketches. Offering a new critical perspective on the artist as well as a resource for patrons wishing to peruse the splendid works of an impressionist master, the book makes a valuable addition to art collections. Scholars and serious students of nineteenth-century painting will be interested in Mathews' extensive research, which has led to the revision of the dating of some of Cassatt's work. A biographical outline and bibliography are appended. Index. DPD. 760'.092 Cassatt, Mary Criticism and interpretation / Artists U.S. Biography / Artists, Expatriate France Biography [CIP] 86-17224
Choice Review
It is difficult to imagine a biography more complete than this one; yet the presentation of Cassatt's art itself seems unsurpassed. One of the first US painters to succeed in Paris in the late 1800s, Cassatt stood in the forefront of shifting values-she had to forge for herself a viable system, which she seems to have done at the expense of her personal and artistic liberty,. What may perhaps most please her admirers are the sketches, studies, and works-in-progress that are wonderfully reproduced here. They catch off guard the inner artist, alive to color and lyrical of line, who uses a sensitive precision and control as thrilling emphasis. When the sketches and first studies are compared-as they often are in this book-with the almost conventionalized final works, one sees a restraint that was probably dictated by the ambiance of her time and by her personality. In her later works she did open herself to the influences of freer artists. Degas, her friend, was consistently supportive, offering encouragement, respect, and admiration. The reader comes to understand what sociopolitical influences kept Cassatt's work close to the subjects-mothers and children-for which she is best known. Excellent both as biography and a study of a special contribution to art; highly recommended for all art libraries.-C. Pascoe, College of Mount Saint Vincent
Library Journal Review
``As one of the country's greatest artists Mary Cassatt has entered the ranks of American heroes,'' Mathews concludes after 15 years' research. The shortness of the volume (and the plentitude of excellent black-and-white illustrations and color plates) tends to restrict this monograph to survey length. Yet the book includes a clear definition of the artist's personality, a revised chronology, and a balanced analysis of Cassatt's development, showing for example that she was a true Impressionist for only nine years. A fine book at a moderate price. Recommended. Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Art Dept., Goucher Coll., Md. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
