Mary Cassatt, “Sketch of Mother and Daughter Looking at Baby”

Art of Our Time: Selections by the Class of 1974 
May 4 – August 4, 2024
Gallery 2

Mary Cassatt, Sketch of Mother and Daughter Looking at Baby
1908, pastel on paper, Sixth purchase made possible by the Louise Jordan Smith Fund, 1945.
Collection of the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.

This is a sweet, endearing image of maternal love that warms my heart, even more now that I have children of my own. ~ Marguerite “Margie” Morris Dubay ’74     

At one point this sketch was in Dr. Quillian’s office and I would see it at meetings there, and was surprised that the college had a painting by such a famous artist. ~ Ray Smith Berry ’74     

To say I have a mixed history with Cassatt is an understatement! Do I remember this particular work from my days at the college? I can’t place it in a specific room, although I have a vague feeling it was in the library. I do remember I always liked it, but I generally like all of Cassatt’s work—both for its beauty and for its focus on women’s lives. But then, perhaps I like her bold decision to become a professional artist and move to Paris even better? Her comfortable circumstances should in no way undercut the sheer guts it took to establish her career in that day and time. She envisioned her own Vita abundantior and she made it happen. Who couldn’t respect that? Why, then, do I say I have a mixed history with her? It goes back to the early 80’s when women were convinced an all-natural childbirth was both a privilege and a duty. After taking my Lamaze classes, I chose a lovely print of a mother and child by Mary Cassatt as the “focal point” for my breathing. After 41 hours of labor (I should have had a Caesarian, but I had a very bad doctor instead), I hated that picture with a passion only exceeded by my utter loathing for the man who would eventually be stripped of his medical credentials and kicked out of the Air Force. It took a while for me to come back to Cassatt—or, indeed, to the image of any baby other than my own sweet daughter. Just this year, however, I became a grandmother. My daughter had a daughter of her own, and now I find myself doubly drawn to Cassatt’s tender handling of the enduring bond between mothers and daughters. That bond in itself is often a challenging one, but, like Cassatt’s paintings, whatever emotions you choose to invest in it on any given day, the underlying beauty remains. ~ Kathy Phares Farris ’74