Mary Cassatt

by Nancy Hale

Assesses each stage of the American artist's development and her relations with Impressionism and individual Impressionist painters

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, Biography

333 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1982

About the author

Nancy Hale was an American novelist and short-story writer. She received the O. Henry Award, a Benjamin Franklin magazine award, and the Henry H. Bellaman Foundation Award for fiction.

Reviews

[Mike Zickar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Hale wrote a really good book about a woman painter, but this one, in my opinion isn't it. I really enjoyed her memoir of her parents, the totally underrated Lillian Westcott Hale and father Philip Hale, and so I was excited to read this biography of Cassatt.

The book was fine, though if you are looking for a biography that will cover Cassatt's full life with attention to her actual painting, I suspect there are better biographies (having written that, I haven't read others). The book seems disjointed, at times quoting nearly exclusively from Cassatt's letters and focusing a lot on whether Cassatt and Degas had an affair as well as the miserableness of the last few years of Cassatt's life.

Enough complaining. The book was still fun to read and at times quite good. The reproductions of paintings are all in black and white. One bonus is that Hale provides an annotated bibliography at the end that describes and evaluates a lot of the primary sources that she relied on, highlighting to me several books that I am excited to read soon.

[J C Landwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was copyrighted in 1975 and while some generations might dismiss it for its vintage, I find it refreshing and as current as you could get to any of the great impressionists. Ill even go so far as to say I might prefer it to something newer because of Hale, herself. I'm guessing she must have been an artist, not just an art historian. She's researched the letters of both Cassatt and Degas exhaustively, providing plenty of supportive material for each chapter. Hale comes from a generation who had a much deeper respect for language and conveys that throughout her pages. Her detailed descriptions of technique and execution, and her thorough knowledge of light and shadow make her an expert providing the reader with what visuals are needed to appreciate the art and artists. I wanted to give the book 5/5 stars but held back, reluctantly. (Never mind. I decided to give it all 5. It's just so well written.)

[Linda Dittes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being an artist and avid admirer of Cassatt, I loved this book. A little overly detailed about the times but adds to the depth of research the author took to reproduce what life was like during Mary's lifetime.

I especially like the thoughts on painting and it's difficulty and how women had to devote so much of their lives on being equal and not having families.

[Karen Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Cassatt is one of the greatest American painters - and lived during a time (1844-1926, dying at age 82) when well-known women painters were rare. She was friends with Edgar Degas, knew many of the Impressionists, and advised lots of people to buy paintings that were later acknowledged as masterpieces.

She never married or had children - yet was particularly known for insightful mother-and-child paintings - one of her many contradictions.

I loved Mary's feistiness - even near the end of her long life, when she sadly went blind. She knew what she liked and disagreed forcibly when it wasn't happening.

This book is well written but sometimes a bit of a slog to get through. As with this type of book, I really wish the (many, happily) photographs were in color, although that's more expensive for the publisher. Enjoyed my time reading about the inimitable Mary Cassatt.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mary Cassatt (Hardcover)
by Nancy Hale (Goodreads Author)

Includes annotated bibliography.