While Spencer’s gender challenges opened doors for women artists to follow, for Mary Cassatt, those doors weren’t wide enough. Boldly, she moved to Paris to make her career there and no doubt was as surprised as you might be to learn she encountered difficult restrictions commanded by French bourgeois society. While Whistler and Sargent could depict women in unconventional, often controversial ways, Cassatt’s choices were limited. Determined and talented, Cassatt found clever ways to work inside the constraints.
This is a 5-week program:
Lilly Martin Spencer: Feb. 24
James McNeil Whistler: Mar. 3
John Singer Sargent: Mar. 10
Mary Cassatt: Mar. 17
Cecilia Beaux and the Gilded Age/New Woman: Mar. 24