Collection Online as of December 7, 2023

The Letter (recto)

1890–1891

Part of a set. See all set records

Mary Cassatt

(American, 1844–1926)

America, 19th century

Black crayon and graphite

Support: Beige(1) wove paper

Sheet: 34.6 x 23 cm (13 5/8 x 9 1/16 in.)

Bequest of Charles T. Brooks 1941.86.a

Location

not on view

Description

In this study for the color drypoint and aquatint of the same title, Cassatt worked out the placement of the figure at a writing table. Details such as the precise incline of her head, the curls on her forehead, and the position of her fingers on the envelope are echoed in the print.

Inscriptions

Inscription

signed lower right, in graphite: Mary Cassatt; lower left in graphite: 4423-oss; verso, lower right, in graphite: 136

Provenance

Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris (according to Breeskin 1970, under no. 805); Charles T. Brooks.

Citations

Mathews, Nancy Mowll, Mary Cassatt, and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1989. Reproduced: p. 121, fig. 8-1

DeGrazia, Diane and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 2000. Mentioned: P. 214-215, 295-296; Reproduced: P. 215, cat. no. 89

Nash, Julie. "Paper Trail: Navigating NcNicoll's Sketchbooks." In Cassatt - McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds, Caroline Shields, ed.,117-137. Toronto, Ontario: Art Gallery of Ontario; Fredericton, New Brunswick: Goose Lane Editions, 2023. Reproduced: P. 132

Exhibition history

The Cleveland Museum of Art (November 1, 1993-January 2, 1994) - Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, no cat.

Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (organizer) (June 18-August 27, 1989); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (September 8-November 5, 1989); Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA (November 25, 1989-January 21, 1990).

Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 7, 1993-January 2, 1994).

Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).

Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013).