Lady in Black, in a Loge, Facing Right - Mary Cassatt

Mrs. Cyrus Adams Memorial Fund and Mary S. Adams Fund

"Lady in Black, in a Loge, Facing Right" by Mary Cassatt (c. 1881) Soft ground etching in brown ink on cream laid paper.

Commentary

"Lady in Black, in a Loge, Facing Right" by Mary Cassatt (c. 1881) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, where line, texture, and contrast do most of the ex pressive work. Themes to notice include etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Mary Cassatt is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Mary Cassatt American, 1844-1926. The work is cataloged within a United States cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Soft ground etching in brown ink on cream laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Image/plate: 19.4 × 30.6 cm (7 11/16 × 12 1/16 in.); Sheet: 24.8 × 40.2 cm (9 13/16 × 15 7/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/26752

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data