Mary Cassatt
Young Woman in Black
1878-1879
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Mary Cassatt
Young Woman in Black
1878-1879
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 31 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (80.6 x 64.8 cm)
Framed: 39 1/4 x 33 in. (99.7 x 83.8 cm)
Credit Line
The Peabody Art Collection. Courtesy of the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property of the Maryland State Archives. MSA SC 4680-10-0010
Object Number
L.1964.18
Long known simply as Young Woman in Black, this painting was recently identified as the Portrait of Madame J. Mary Cassat sent it to the fifth Impressionist exhibition in April, 1880. At that time, she was absorbing the lessons of Japanese art, primarily through woodblock prints. So were her French contemporaries, including Edgar Degas, with whom she had a close professional relationship. Here, Cassatt deployed an asymmetrical composition made of flattened shapes and color planes edged by strong contours. Inspired by Japanese fans, Degas painted the framed fan (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art) that hangs above the sitter, who wears a fashionable hat, probably felt, with a turned-up brim, high crown, stuffed bird and black lace veil. Such commodities were illustrated in fashion magazines of the period.
Wildenstein Gallery, New York City, NY, Oct. 1947 - Jan. 1948.
Art Institute of Chicago, January - February, 1954; circulated to Metropolitan Museum of Art, March-May, 1954
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Manet, Degas, Morisot and Cassatt", April 18 - June 3, 1962
M. Knoedler and Co., "Exhibition of Painting, Drawings, and Graphic Works by Mary Cassatt", February 1966
Joslyn Art Museum, "Mary Cassatt Among the Impressionists", April 9 - June 1, 1969.
National Gallery of Art, "Mary Cassatt", September 26 - November 8, 1970
Walters Art Gallery, "Old Mistresses", April 17 - June 18, 1972
Newport Harbor Art Museum, "Mary Cassatt 1844-1926", December 12, 1973 - January 20, 1974; circulated to Santa Barbara Museum of Art, February 2 - March 17, 1974
USIA, "Two Hundred Years of American Painting", 1976; circulated to Rheninisches Landesmuseum, June 30 - July 28, 1976; Museum of Modern Art, Belgrade, August 16 - September 11, 1976; Galleria d'Arte Moderna, September 28 - October 26, 1976; National Museum of Poland, November 12 - December 30, 1976; The Maryland Science Center, January 16 - February 6, 1977
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Women Artists: 1550-1950"; circulated to University Art Museum, Austin, April 12 - June 12, 1977; Carnegie Institute, July 14 - September 4, 1977; The Brooklyn Museum, October 4 - November 22, 1977.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Mary Cassatt at Home", August 5 - October 1, 1978
American Federation of the Arts, "The Art of Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926), 1981; circulated to the The Isetan Art Gallery, Tokyo, June 11 - July 7, 1981; Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, Nara, July 18 - August 23, 1981
SITES, "American Impressionism", 1982-1983; circulated to The Musee de Petit Palais, March 10 - May 18, 1982; Staaliche Museen su Berlin (East Berlin) June 6 - July 17, 1982; The National Museum, Cracow, August 15 - September 25, 1982; Art Museum of Socialist Republic of Romania, October 24 - December 4, 1982; National Art Gallery, Sofia, December 26, 1982 - January 31, 1983
Coe-Kerr Gallery, Inc., "Mary Cassatt: An American Observer", October 3 - October 27, 1984
National Gallery of Art, "The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886", January 16 - April 6, 1986; circulated to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, April 19 - July 6, 1986
SITES, "New Horizons: American Painting 1840 - 1910", October 1987 - June 1988; circulated to State Tretyakov Museum, November 16, 1987 - January 6, 1988; State Russian Museum, Leningrad, January 22 - March 18, 1988; Minsk State Museum of Belorussiya, March 30 - May 13, 1988
The Art Institute of Chicago, "Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman", October 10, 1998 - January 10, 1999; circulated to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 6 - May 19, 1999; National Gallery of Art, June 5 - September 6, 1999
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Impressionist Portraits from American Collections", October 6, 1999 - January 30, 2000; circulated to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 25, 2000 - May 7, 2000; Cleveland Museum of Art, May 28, 2000 - July 30, 2000
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain, "An Intimate Vision: Women Impressionists," November 12, 2001 - February 3, 2002.
The National Gallery, London, "Americans in Paris", February 22, 2006 - May 21, 2006
Denver Art Museum, "Impression and the Art of the Past," circulated to Seattle Art Museum only, June 19 - September 21, 2008.
The National Gallery of Art, "Degas/Cassatt," May 11, 2014 - October 5, 2014.
Philidelphia Museum of Art, "Mary Cassat at Work". Philidelphia Museum of Art, April 17, 2024- August 4, 2024.
Art Institute of Chicago, January - February, 1954; circulated to Metropolitan Museum of Art, March-May, 1954
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Manet, Degas, Morisot and Cassatt", April 18 - June 3, 1962
M. Knoedler and Co., "Exhibition of Painting, Drawings, and Graphic Works by Mary Cassatt", February 1966
Joslyn Art Museum, "Mary Cassatt Among the Impressionists", April 9 - June 1, 1969.
National Gallery of Art, "Mary Cassatt", September 26 - November 8, 1970
Walters Art Gallery, "Old Mistresses", April 17 - June 18, 1972
Newport Harbor Art Museum, "Mary Cassatt 1844-1926", December 12, 1973 - January 20, 1974; circulated to Santa Barbara Museum of Art, February 2 - March 17, 1974
USIA, "Two Hundred Years of American Painting", 1976; circulated to Rheninisches Landesmuseum, June 30 - July 28, 1976; Museum of Modern Art, Belgrade, August 16 - September 11, 1976; Galleria d'Arte Moderna, September 28 - October 26, 1976; National Museum of Poland, November 12 - December 30, 1976; The Maryland Science Center, January 16 - February 6, 1977
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "Women Artists: 1550-1950"; circulated to University Art Museum, Austin, April 12 - June 12, 1977; Carnegie Institute, July 14 - September 4, 1977; The Brooklyn Museum, October 4 - November 22, 1977.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, "Mary Cassatt at Home", August 5 - October 1, 1978
American Federation of the Arts, "The Art of Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926), 1981; circulated to the The Isetan Art Gallery, Tokyo, June 11 - July 7, 1981; Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, Nara, July 18 - August 23, 1981
SITES, "American Impressionism", 1982-1983; circulated to The Musee de Petit Palais, March 10 - May 18, 1982; Staaliche Museen su Berlin (East Berlin) June 6 - July 17, 1982; The National Museum, Cracow, August 15 - September 25, 1982; Art Museum of Socialist Republic of Romania, October 24 - December 4, 1982; National Art Gallery, Sofia, December 26, 1982 - January 31, 1983
Coe-Kerr Gallery, Inc., "Mary Cassatt: An American Observer", October 3 - October 27, 1984
National Gallery of Art, "The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886", January 16 - April 6, 1986; circulated to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, April 19 - July 6, 1986
SITES, "New Horizons: American Painting 1840 - 1910", October 1987 - June 1988; circulated to State Tretyakov Museum, November 16, 1987 - January 6, 1988; State Russian Museum, Leningrad, January 22 - March 18, 1988; Minsk State Museum of Belorussiya, March 30 - May 13, 1988
The Art Institute of Chicago, "Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman", October 10, 1998 - January 10, 1999; circulated to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 6 - May 19, 1999; National Gallery of Art, June 5 - September 6, 1999
Baltimore Museum of Art, "Impressionist Portraits from American Collections", October 6, 1999 - January 30, 2000; circulated to Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 25, 2000 - May 7, 2000; Cleveland Museum of Art, May 28, 2000 - July 30, 2000
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Spain, "An Intimate Vision: Women Impressionists," November 12, 2001 - February 3, 2002.
The National Gallery, London, "Americans in Paris", February 22, 2006 - May 21, 2006
Denver Art Museum, "Impression and the Art of the Past," circulated to Seattle Art Museum only, June 19 - September 21, 2008.
The National Gallery of Art, "Degas/Cassatt," May 11, 2014 - October 5, 2014.
Philidelphia Museum of Art, "Mary Cassat at Work". Philidelphia Museum of Art, April 17, 2024- August 4, 2024.
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, "Mary Cassatt, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Oils, Pastels, Watercolors and Drawings", Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1970, ill. p. 76, no. 129
Reproduced in color in unbound catalogue for the Exhibition "Mary Cassatt, 1844-1926" at the Newport Harbor Art Museum, 1974
Jay Roudebush, "Mary Cassatt", New York: Crown, 1979
Barbara Novak, "American Impressionism", Portfolio, Magazine of the Fine Arts, April 1982. Vol. IV, No. 2, pp. 69-81
Monika Kopplin, "The Fan Leaf from Manet to Kokoschla", Stuttgart: Stuttgart Staatsgalerie, 1984, p. 18, ill. 13
Nancy Mowll Mathews, "Mary Cassatt", New York: Harry N, Abrams, Inc., 1987, p. 50
Michael Cain, "Mary Cassatt", New York - Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988, ill. p. 75
Griselda Pollock, "Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity", Routledge Classics, 1988, p. 90
Maria Cistantino, "Mary Cassat", New York, Brompton Books/Barnes and Noble, 1995, ill. p. 41
Debra N. Mancoff, "Mary Cassatt: Reflections of Women's Lives", London: Frances Lincoln LTD, 1998
Debra Mancoff, "Why Cassatt Matters", Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1998
Stephen May, "Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman", Antiques and The Arts Weekly, March 26, 1999
Professor Richard Brettell, "The Teaching Company Video Series: From Monet to Van Gogh: A History of Impressionism," Chantilly, 2003
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, "Cassatt- McNicoll". Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 3 June 2023- 1 October 2023.
On View at the BMA
