Mary Cassatt, The Nurse, 1878–79. Oil on canvas; 25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. (65.4 x 81 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long, 2001.471. Image courtesy The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Whistler to Cassatt

American Painters in France

Mary Cassatt, The Nurse, 1878–79. Oil on canvas; 25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. (65.4 x 81 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long, 2001.471. Image courtesy The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, c. 1889. Oil paint on canvas; 28-3/4 x 23-5/8 in. Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio: John J. Emery Fund/Bridgeman Images.

John Singer Sargent, Atlantic Storm, 1876. Oil paint on canvas; 23 x 32 in. Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, MN.

John Singer Sargent, Fishing for Oysters at Cancale, 1878. Oil paint on canvas; 16-1/8 x 24 in. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Gift of Miss Mary Appleton, 35.708. Photograph © 2020 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

James McNeill Whistler, The Sea, Pourville, 1899. Oil paint on panel; 5-1/4 x 9-3/8 in. Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1992.158. Photography © Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago.

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Resurrection of Lazarus, 1896. Oil paint on canvas; 37-1/4 x 47-1/2 in. Musée d'Orsay: acquis en 1897. Photo: Herve Lewandoswki. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

Mary Cassatt, Sara and Her Mother with the Baby (No. 3), 1901. Pastel on paper; 28-3/8 x 36-1/4 in. Drs. Tobia and Morton Mower.

James McNeill Whistler, Blue and Silver, Dieppe, 1880– 85. Oil paint on panel; 4-5/8 x 6- 3/8 in. New Britain Museum of American Art: Harriet Russell Stanley Fund, 1948.23.

Mary Cassatt, Children in a Garden (The Nurse), 1878. Oil paint on canvas; 33-1/8 × 39-3/8 × 3 in. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith J. Long, 2001.471.

John Singer Sargent, A Gust of Wind (Judith Gautier), c. 1883-85. Oil paint on canvas; 24-3/4 × 15 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond: James W. and Frances Gibson McGlothlin Collection. Photo by Travis Fullerton. © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Mary Cassatt, Young Girl at a Window, c. 1883–1884. Oil paint on canvas; 39-1/2 x 25-1/2 in. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC: Corcoran Collection, museum Purchase, Gallery Fund. Image courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington. Public Domain.

Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Young Sabot Maker, 1895. Oil paint on canvas, 47-3/8 x 35-3/8 in. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund and partial gift of an anonymous donor, 95-22. Photo: Jamison Miller.

Henry Mosler, Le Retour (The Return of the Prodigal Son), 1879. Oil paint on canvas; 46-3/4 x 39-3/4 in. Paris, musée d'Orsay, dépôt au musée déparetmental breton, Quimper. © Breton Departmental Museum/SergeGoa rin.

Mary Cassatt, Autumn, Portrait of Lydia Cassatt, 1880. Oil paint on canvas; 36- 5/8 x 25-5/8 in. Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. Photo: Agence Bulloz. © RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY.

James McNeill Whistler, The Beach at Marseille (detail), 1901. Oil paint on panel, 8-1/16 x 13-1/16 in. Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1992.143. Photography © Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago.

Vista de una gran ola azul en el océano desde la perspectiva de un hombre que se encuentra en la cubierta de un barco

John Singer Sargent, Atlantic Storm, 1876. Oil paint on canvas; 23 x 32 in. Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, MN.

Drawn to France Course

In this four-part course, learn more about the lure of France for American artists and patrons in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This artistic mecca—both the cultural capital of Paris and artist colonies further afield—offered a change of scenery, top-rate venues for training and exhibiting, and an opportunity for artistic exchange. With Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France as a springboard, dive into the rich history of this time and place, look more closely at the works on view, and explore the exhibition with newfound knowledge in hand.

Audio Guides

Whistler to Cassatt includes audio guides for adults and families (available in English and Spanish), which can be picked up at the entrance of the exhibition. Headphones are provided, but you're welcome to bring your own (standard 3.5mm jack).

Pintura abstracta de nubes sobre un paisaje de playa dorado.

Museum of Nebraska Art: Museum purchase, 1976.14
Robert Henri, Concarneau Beach, 1899. Museum of Nebraska Art: Museum Purchase made possible by Lorraine Rohman, Helen N. Blackledge, Tom & Sue Reiber, Godberson Mortuary, Jim & Sharon Knapp, Germaine Oldfather, Mr. & Mrs. Mark Randall, Pauline Nichols, Raymond & Bernice Mercer, 1986.47

Access Guide

Look closer at the images and wall text in Simphiwe Ndzube: Oracles of the Pink Universe by browsing through our online exhibition access guide.

Publications

The richly illustrated companion to Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France offers a sophisticated examination of cultural and aesthetic exchange and highlights many figures-including artists of color and women-who have been left out of previous histories.

The catalog and many others are available to purchase at the DAM's Shop or online.

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De Whistler a Cassatt: Los pintores estadounidenses en Francia es una exposición organizada por el Denver Art Museum y presentada por el Bank of America. Ha sido patrocinada por el fondo Tom Taplin Jr. and Ted Taplin Endowment, el fondo Kristin and Charles Lohmiller Exhibitions Fund, la fundación Wyeth Foundation for American Art, Kathie y Keith Finger, Lauren y Geoff Smart, Christie’s, el Intercambio Franco-Estadounidense de Museos (FRAME, por sus siglas en inglés), los generosos donantes para la campaña benéfica Annual Fund Leadership Campaign y los residentes que brindan su apoyo al Distrito de Organizaciones Científicas y Culturales (SCFD, por sus siglas en inglés). Apoyo promocional proporcionado por 5280 Magazine y CBS4.