Mary Cassatt in the Paintings Gallery at the Louvre

Artist: Edgar Degas, French, 1834–1917
Depicted: Mary Cassatt, American (active France), 1844–1926
Date: 1879–80
Material: Etching, soft-ground etching, aquatint, and drypoint
depicts: Paris, Île-de-France region, France, Europe
Classification: Prints
Collection: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Current Location: Not on view
Dimensions: plate: 12 in. × 5 1/16 in. (30.5 × 12.8 cm)
sheet: 13 7/16 × 7 15/16 in. (34.2 × 20.2 cm)
Credit Line: The Marian Cronheim Trust for Prints and Drawings
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 14:2020

NOTES

Edgar Degas depicted two women visiting the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The standing woman is the American artist Mary Cassatt while the seated figure is believed to be her sister, Lydia Cassatt. Both women are elegantly dressed, wearing dark, slim-cut walking dresses and fashionable hats. Their white ruffled cuffs and gloves, Cassatt’s umbrella, and Lydia’s pleated skirt illustrate how both the Cassatt sisters and Degas himself had the means to keep up with the latest fashion trends in Paris.

This print reflects Degas’ and Cassatt’s shared interest in art and fashion. Both artists frequently visited the Louvre to study the collection, and here Degas represented Cassatt as self-assured and poised as she examines the paintings. Cassatt understood the role clothing played in identifying her social and artistic standing. She purchased hats and gowns from top designers, contributing to her confident persona seen in this print.

Provenance

Possibly purchased from Kennedy Galleries, New York, NY [1]

by 2017
Private collection in Virginia [2]

2017
Unnamed dealer located in Washington D.C., purchased from the collector’s estate sale [3]

2017 - 2020
James Bergquist, purchased from the unnamed dealer in Washington D.C. [4]

2020
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from James Bergquist [5]

Notes:

[1] Per Art Loss Register letter sent to SLAM February 19, 2020, which reports information conveyed by Mr. Bergquist by telephone with the Art Loss Register team. The letter states that upon its acquisition from a Virginia private collection, the object retained a mat and frame provided by dealer Edward G. Kennedy [SLAM Document Files].

[2] See note [1].

[3] Per correspondence from Elizabeth Wyckoff (Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs) to Jeanette Fausz (Assistant Direction for Exhibitions and Collections) [SLAM Document Files].

[4] See note [1].

[5] Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees of the Board of Commissioners, Saint Louis Art Museum, February 24, 2020.

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We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.

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