Mary Cassatt (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1844–1926 Le Mesnil-Théribus, France), The Manicure, 1908, Etching and drypoint, Bequest of Mrs. Toivo Laminan (Margaret Chamberlin, Class of 1929) 1979.25

The lone American among the French Impressionists, Mary Cassatt was also one of the few artists in the group to depict scenes of domestic life, in particular mothers and children. In this print, a seated woman delicately trims the nails of the child in her lap. The similarity of their noses and downturned mouths suggest that they are mother and child. Cassatt objected to being stereotyped by critics as a “woman artist,” and instead sought to bring a dignity to her subjects that was often not granted to them by her male counterparts. This print reveals Cassatt’s ability to depict the tenderness of a domestic scene, and the intimate bond between a mother and child, with more seriousness than sentimentality.

During the summer of 2021, Eleanor P. DeLorme Intern Rachel Beaton (‘21) curated a series of six acquisitions donated by members of the Friends of Art at the Davis, with a focus on the theme of motherhood. Over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year, the Davis will present each artwork individually for a time period of two months. By addressing topics as varied as war, prosperity, intimacy, and reverence, these artworks grapple with the image of the mother as a complex—and often conflicted—figure in both art history and the artists’ personal lives.