Book Description
Readers will be transported to the vibrant art scene of late nineteenth-century Paris in this richly textured portrait of the relationship between Mary Cassatt and her sister Lydia.

Beginning in the autumn of 1878, Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper dreams its way into the intimate world of Cassatt's older sibling. Told in the reflective, lyrical voice of Lydia, who is dying of Bright's disease, the novel opens a window onto the extraordinary age in which these sisters lived, painting its sweeping narrative canvas with fascinating real-life figures that include Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas, Cassatt's brilliant, subversive mentor.

Featuring five full-color plates of Cassatt's paintings, this is a moving and illuminating exploration of the illusive nature of art and desire, memory and mortality, romantic and familial love. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Elegant and delicate, like a Cassatt painting
A lovely novel(la) that provides a glimpse into the lives of Mary Cassatt and her sister Lydia, at a period when Lydia's illness makes time fleeting and precious. The author eschews the usual narrative format in favor of a structure and style that come across as truly Impressionist--giving the reader tantalizing images without spelling out the entire story beginning to end. The reader is invited to fill in the rest. The language is rich, the details carefully chosen for maximum impact. An excellent read for lovers of Impressionist painting.

didn't live up to my expectations
Eh.

I really hate it when I get excited over a book and then it bores me senseless.That's what this one did.Bummer.

Usually, when I write a review, I say something along the lines of "it was well written but.." and usually, what I mean by that is "I didn't really like it much, but I understand what the author was trying to do.." or something to that affect.

In the case of this book, I understand that the author was writing a fictional work about the Impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt.Now, either Mary Cassatt was the most boring person in the history of existance or this author just doesn't posess the knack for storytelling.

To me, the book was not only boring, but unfocused and abrupt.It details the process of five paintings; and devles into the relationship between Mary and her model; her sister Lydia, who is very ill and dying.While the book does touch upon their relationship, it doesn't go deep enough..there are other characters that are introduced who soon disappear leaving the reader wondering "so who is this?how do they know him?oh wait, it doesn't matter, because now he's gone from the story."A total feeling of dissatisfaction.

Generally, I like the historical art fiction novels.Not so much this one.I've said it before, but if you're looking for something in this genre, pick up something by Tracy Chevalier or Susan Vreeland..they're wonderful.

perfect for a Sunday afternoon read
I loved this book and sorry I didn't know about this author sooner but happy someone told me about this title. Lydia Cassatt, is Mary Cassatt's older sister who suffers with Bright's Disease. Mary paints her sister in several paintings and each chapter brings the painting to life with story and life in the Cassatt household.

Beautiful writing and really makes me want to visit the art gallery. There are 5 plates of the paintings within the book to reinforce the image with the chapters ~ really good and short enough to read in one sitting.

An easy read if you appreciate art.
An easy read if you appreciate art. I liked that it tried to describe each painting and even showed them in the book.It really took me back to that time.This was a well written flowing book.

Lydia LaBelle
This review is based upon the unabridged audio CD version of this novel. I'm never clear about why an author who is not trained in expressive narration would choose to record his/her own book. In my experience, it's not very successful, and such things are best left to professionals. Lydia Cassatt is no great exception. The author's voice is childish in tone and pitch, and distracts from rather than adds to the story. That said, about halfway through this version, I came to feel that the voice rather fit Lydia's character. She was the unknown sister of an artist whose fame was increasing year by year. She was struggling to come to terms with her illness and her own mortality. That Lydia's family so loved her was undoubtedly a factor in her ability to do so. The factual accuracy of this story is less important than the opportunity to watch and listen to Lydia as she might have faced her fatal problem. Her grace, intelligence, and moral strength as depicted by Chessman are inspiring. This is a lovely work of art that stands on its own. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
The Essentials Series.
In 1877, the passionate young American artist Mary Cassatt accepted an invitation in Paris to join a bold, new movement known as French Impressionism and,in her own words, "began to live."This book explores Cassatt's unique position as a woman artist among the Impressionists, her enduring popularity as a celebrated painter of motherhood, and this Victorian suffragist'scontinuing influence as a feminist role model today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Rich Resource to Supplement Mary Cassatt: A Life by Nancy Mowll Mathews
The standard biography of Mary Cassatt is the excellent volume by art historian Nancy Mowll Mathews, Mary Cassatt: A Life, that I have separately reviewed.I highly commend Cassatt: A Retrospective to all those who enjoy that volume.In the retrospective, you'll find more primary sources, more detail and of course, more examples of Ms. Cassatt's wonderful paintings.

I made the mistake of reviewing the Retrospective volume first . . . and found that it connected the story together not well enough to provide a complete picture.It's like reviewing a magazine issue devoted to an artist rather than a biography.For that reason, I'm commending you to read the books in the opposite order to what I did.

Some of the material in this book is priceless for its ability to add insight into the Parisian artistic scene.I particularly enjoyed reading the reports about the process used to "judge" paintings submitted to the Salon.The relationship between Degas and Cassatt is also clarified by the materials in the Retrospective. ... Read more

Product Description
Mary Cassatt always wanted to be an artist. But to reach her goal, she had to overcome many barriers. At the time Mary lived, people frowned on girls from wealthy families having a career. Her parents did not want her living the "odd" life they thought artists lived. Few art schools even accepted girls and women as students. And the "art world" held one idea of what paintings should be but Mary had a different idea. After much travel, study, and hard work, she won over her parents and the critics. Today Mary Cassatt's "impressionist" paintings hang in the best museums and collections throughout the world. She helped change attitudes that for so long kept women from their dreams. She even played a part in winning for women the right to vote. This book is written for 8 and up readers. There are over 20 color pictures of her paintings for you to enjoy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Controversial
Many criticize carelessness in this guide, prepared toward the end of the author's life. ... Read more

Book Description
Often regarded as merely the creator of sentimental images of mothers and children or an expatriate heavily influenced by Impressionism, Mary Cassatt is not typically regarded as an artist of radical convictions. In Eve's Daughter/Modern Woman, Sally Webster reevaluates these dismissals with a historical, aesthetic, and symbolist analysis of Cassatt's unique venture into the male-dominated realm of large-scale mural painting, Modern Woman.

Commissioned for the Woman's Building at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Modern Woman also stood as a personal and professional manifesto. This book undertakes a complete overview of Cassatt's mural, synthesizing a wide variety of interpretations and original observations to present the first complete treatment of the work. Webster connects the symbolism of the painting to Cassatt's life as a woman artist and a member of the Parisian avant-garde, and to the history of woman's emancipation. She ends with a detective story as she joins the hunt to unravel the mystery of the now-missing mural, last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Potter Palmer (of Chicago's Palmer House family). ... Read more