A famous artist named Mary Cassatt was born in Pennsylvania in 1844. Mary lived in France and Germany when she was young. Mary saw some of the most famous paintings in the world. Mary told her parents that she wanted to be an artist when she returned to the United States.

Mary Cassatt learned how to paint in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Lots of artists dreamed about having their artwork shown by an official art show in France called the Salon. The Salon liked the way Mary painted, which was traditional and finished. Mary showcased her artwork in the Salon in 1868.

Mary Cassatt liked a place in France called Paris, and decided to move there. Impressionists’ work inspired her to try new techniques.  Edgar Degas, another artist of the times, asked her to join the Impressionists and exhibit her artwork which she answered yes to.

An exhibited painting Mary Cassatt showed was called The Cup of Tea, and is of Mary’s sister Lydia Cassatt, holding a cup of tea in an everyday setting.  Mary used light in a way that made things in her paintings almost glow.

Mary Cassatt made her home in Paris, however always called herself an American.  Mary made prints, pastel artwork, and paintings but she stopped painting altogether in 1914.

          In 1926, Mary Cassatt was about 80 years old when she died in her home in Paris, France.