Mary Cassatt , “ Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge ,”
1879
“ It was not for the labor . It was for the experience gained in a lifetime .”
Whistler won his case , but the damages were one farthing , the smallest coin in the realm . His reputation was ruined , and he had to declare bankruptcy . He regained some financial security through the sales of etchings , and moved to Paris , where he spent his last years , and found that his radical new credo of “ art for art ’ s sake ” was more appreciated .
The second time Whistler lived in Paris , another American was enjoying a long-overdue success . Like Whistler , Mary Cassatt came from a wealthy family and spent part of her childhood in Europe , where she became fluent in French . She began her art education at 15 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts , but wanted something more fulfilling so , chaperoned by her mother , she traveled to Paris . As a woman , she was unable to study at the École des Beaux-Arts , but she got what may have been an even better education , working with Charles Gleyre — who taught Monet , Renoir , and Whistler — and Thomas Couture , who taught Manet .
Mary Cassatt , “ Woman Bathing ,”
1890
John Singer Sargent , “ Lady Agnew of Lochnaw ,” 1892
November | December 2021 71