Provenance
Estate of the artist, 1926-1927 [Lugt 2665a]; Mathilde Vallet, Paris, 1927-1931 [according to Breeskin 1970]. Sold, Galerie A. M. Reitlinger, Paris, June 1931, Mathilde X sale, lot 164. Sold by Henri Petiet (died 1980), Paris, to the Art Institute, 1965.
Accession Number
22584
Medium
Graphite, on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
22.4 × 14.2 cm (8 7/8 × 5 5/8 in.)
Classification
graphite
Credit Line
Solomon A. Smith Charitable Fund
Background & Context
Background Story
Mary Cassatt's The Artist's Father Reading (c. 1883) is a graphite drawing on ivory wove paper depicting Robert Cassatt, the artist's father, absorbed in reading. Cassatt's portraits of her family are among the most intimate works of her career. This drawing captures her father in a quiet moment of concentration, the features rendered with sensitivity and affection. The graphite technique is refined and controlled.
Cultural Impact
Cassatt's portraits of her family are among the most intimate and revealing works of her career.
Why It Matters
This drawing of Cassatt's father reading captures a quiet domestic moment with sensitivity and affection, the refined technique revealing the artist's gifts as a portraitist.
