On the Omnibus (The Tramway)
Artist/Culture
Mary Cassatt
(American, active in France, 1844–1926)
Date1891
Mediumdrypoint, softground etching and aquatint on cream laid paper
Dimensionsplate: 36.7 x 26.7 cm (14 7/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
sheet: 43.5 x 30.2 cm (17 1/8 x 11 7/8 in.)
sheet: 43.5 x 30.2 cm (17 1/8 x 11 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineMrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection
Object number1926.204
DescriptionBreeshin 145Label TextDespite her non-traditional lifestyle as unmarried and childless, Cassatt’s adult female subjects are typically presented as maternal caretakers. This print, however, presents a unique mother within her body of work. Not only is this an uncommon example of Cassatt representing motherhood outside a domestic setting, the fashionable, upper-class mother in this work is not a nurturer; instead, she is detached and reflective. The child faces away from her mother toward a figure presumed to be the nanny, indicated by her working class attire. A preparatory drawing for this work features a man in a top hat who was excised in the final print seen here.ProvenanceMrs. Kingsmill Marrs, Boston, MA
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