Description

Shown at the 1880 Impressionist exhibition, On a Balcony depicts a woman in a private garden surrounded by flowers rendered in energetic brushstrokes of red, blue, yellow, and pink. Mary Cassatt focused on the activities of middle- and upper-class women in society—from public outings like the theater to domestic settings such as this one. Here, the blue rail of the balcony, visible near the top of the painting, defines the enclosed space of a garden, and the sitter’s morning dress further indicates the intimacy of the location. Cassatt signaled the modernity of her subject through the woman’s choice of reading material: she peruses a newspaper rather than a novel, demonstrating that even at home, Cassatt’s subjects are connected to the contemporary world.

Provenance

The artist; with Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, by 1903 [New York 1903, cat. 10; letter from Charles Durand-Ruel to Mary Carton, Dec. 14, 1978; copies in curatorial object file; inscription on stretcher: D.R. N.Y 2707]; sold to Mrs. Delia Spencer Field (1853–1937; also Mrs. Arthur John Caton, Mrs. Marshall Field), Washington, DC, 1922 [notation in Catherine Beveridge’s catalogue according to letter from Albert J. Beveridge, III, Jan. 30, 1979; Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 1938, 58; handwritten note on incoming permanent receipt R6498, Jan. 14, 1938; copies in curatorial object file]; by descent to her niece, Catherine Eddy Beveridge (also Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge), Washington, DC [letter from Robert B. Harshe to Mrs. Beveridge, Dec. 10, 1937; copy in curatorial object file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1938.