Mary CassattAmerican, 1844–1926The Banjo Lesson
Can I see it?
Unknown
Where is “The Banjo Lesson” now? Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Unknown.
Washington, D.C., United States
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1981.100
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
In the life of Mary Cassatt
The whole life1890s
Mentor to young Americans
The 1890s are the busiest and most creative period of Mary’s life: young American artists seek her advice and support, and she introduces Lucy A. Bacon to Camille Pissarro.
1891
Colour prints inspired by Japanese woodcuts
Mary exhibits a series of highly original colour drypoints and aquatints, among them “Woman Bathing” and “The Coiffure”, inspired by the Japanese masters shown in Paris the year before. She was drawn to the simplicity and clarity of Japanese design and its skilful use of blocks of colour.
1891
Bertha Palmer commissions a mural
Chicago socialite Bertha Palmer asks Mary to paint a 12 × 58 ft mural on “Modern Woman” for the Women’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Palmer thought Cassatt an American treasure and could think of no one better.
