Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt

The recent exhibition of a considerable portion of the Rouart Collection throughout the United States and Canada gave us our first opportunity to see a significant group of paintings by Berthe Morisot. Her career is comparable in many ways to that of Mary Cassatt. Both women were sufficiently independent financially to paint without having to depend on sales, and to give substantial aid to the Impressionist Movement. Both helped to form important collections of paintings, Morisot by acquiring works now in the Rouart Collection, and Cassatt by assisting the Havemeyers and others in their choice of pictures. In spite of their economic status, Morisot and Cassatt had many obstacles to overcome in establishing themselves as artists, and they experienced more discouragement than anyone would be likely to guess from looking at their works. Not surprisingly, they concentrated on familiar, domestic themes, but Morisot was also interested in landscape—a subject that Cassatt almost never touched. When Berthe Morisot was not painting in oil, she often chose watercolor as a medium; Cassatt preferred print techniques, especially drypoint. Both artists were fond of drawing with pastels.