Woman with a Sunflower

Born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1844, Mary Cassatt trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, one of the few institutions where women were allowed to study. She moved to Paris with her mother in 1866, where she would spend her entire adult life. Cassatt began studying Italian and French masters, but was soon noticed by the Impressionists. Edgar Degas was particularly taken with her work, and beginning in the mid-1870s, she regularly exhibited her work with the Impressionists. Though very much a member of their circle, as a woman, she was not allowed to enter the cafés where the Impressionists frequently gathered to discuss art and philosophy.

Philadelphia, PA, USA