At the age of 21, Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) disregarded the opposition of her wealthy Pennsylvania family and went to France to study painting, remaining there for most of her life. In this admirable biography, art historian Mathews ( Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints ) presents a compelling portrait of this contradictory woman. Cassatt joined the impressionists but always lived as a well-bred lady, never as a bohemian; gained fame with sensitive portraits of mothers and children yet never married or had children; and was frequently visited by family and friends from the U.S. who became caught up in her brilliant career in spite of her difficult and outspoken personality. Concentrating on Cassatt's devotion to her work and her often stormy personal relationships, including her friendships with the irascible painter Edgar Degas as well as with numerous wealthy Americans, some of whom she helped to acquire collections of impressionist art, Mathews treats Cassatt as a thoroughly professional painter, and shows how this single-minded and independent woman set her sights on high artistic goals and spent her life attaining them. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Although several monographs and many shorter works have been written about America's expatriate artist Mary Cassatt, this most recent effort by Nancy Mowll Mathews (art history, Williams Coll.) is an evenly written, well-documented, and sympathetic--but not patronizing--biography that should be acquired by most libraries. Though very few of the many illustrations will be new to Cassatt devotees, the final chapter--``The Historical Cassatt''--provides an insightful overview of the various popular and scholarly interpretations of Cassatt the feminist/individualist vs. Cassatt the genteel woman/artist. Recommended for public and academic libraries. (Index not seen.)-- P. Steven Thomas, Sangamon State Univ., Springfield, Ill.Copyright 1994 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Cassatt is known as the painter of mothers and children and as one of the few women Impressionists. Mathews, a renowned Cassatt expert, illuminates facets of the painter's life that have never before been articulated. An American who lived and worked in France for 60 years, Cassatt was a member of a wealthy Pennsylvania clan with a taste for European life and culture. By the time she was 15, Cassatt was fluent in several languages and possessed a keen and critical eye. Competitive, independent, and blessed with the sort of personal power that makes a person a "somebody," Cassatt chose to remain single and devote herself to her art. The key question, then, is why a single, childless woman would choose to make "maternity her signature theme." The answer becomes clear as Mathews traces the straight arrow of Cassatt's life, from her early struggles for recognition to her great joy at being welcomed into the breakaway Impressionist group by Edgar Degas, who became a close and encouraging friend. While Cassatt embraced a new, more natural, and spontaneous style of painting, her ethics never changed, especially her belief in the value of respectability. To remain respectable, a single woman living in Paris must have chaperones. Cassatt, therefore, surrounded herself with her parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, and all became her favorite models. It is within this family context that Cassatt was inspired to express the tenderness and beauty of mothers and children, a radiant subject that she approached without a shred of sentimentality or regret. Indeed, her artistic objectivity and vision are exactly what make these velvety and luminous paintings such masterpieces. (Reviewed Mar. 1, 1994)039458497XDonna Seaman From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.