Art Institute unveils ode to ‘relentless experimenter’ Mary Cassatt
Courtney Kueppers | Chicago Sun-Times | 8th September 2026
Cassatt was a Paris resident when her friend Degas invited her to exhibit with the Impressionist group. She agreed and was a regular presence in their later shows. Her paintings had a characteristic focus – contemporary women and their daily lives. Caregiving was, in her hands, treated as a serious subject and domestic scenes were underpinned by a “steely rigour of design”. Says one critic, “the outstanding woman painter of the 19th century”. Discussion of a lost Cassatt mural is here.