Mary Cassatt: Feminist Artist
- N.J. Mastro
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
The Cassatt Sisters: A Novel of Love and Art by Lisa Groen reveals to readers the inner life of painter Mary Cassatt during her rise to prominence as an American artist living in Paris in the latter part of the 19th century.
From the beginning, readers are placed in sensuous 19th century Paris, the center of the art world. It is the 1870s. Mary Cassatt is just 33 years old. The Paris Salon has rejected her paintings for its upcoming show after exhibiting them the last seven years. Is it because she is rejecting their dictates? Their academic style? Of course it is. The time of the les avant-guardes has arrived, and Mary has been swept into it. Born of the les avant-guardes movement, of course, is what we know of today as impressionism.
The novel is justly titled. At Mary’s side throughout the story is her only sister, Lydia, a constant companion on whom Mary depends more than she realizes. Lydia often sits as a model for Mary, who has thrown her lot in with the so-called impressionists. Mary’s parents have also joined her in the City of Light and, like Lydia, feature heavily in Mary’s narration in the novel.
References to well-known artists and the art world abound in Groen's story. Mary is smitten by the handsome Edgar Degas before even meeting him. His art and reputation as a fellow avant-garde precede him. When she meets him in person, he’s already larger than life. He further charms her when he invites her to join him and other impressionists, a name they dislike, by the way. They think of themselves as realists, not impressionists. Their main opposition: art traditionalists.
Groan's writing is economical with words in Mary's first-person narration, yet she beautifully creates a sense of being in Paris with the artist. Her writing is as light and deliberate as Mary Cassatt's brush strokes. As a result, Mary's interiority flows smoothly and seamlessly.
As the story progresses, despite how successful she has already been at a young age, Mary begins to doubt her creative instincts, as shown in the passage below:
“I’d given my life to painting. Though my art had found some acclaim outside of France, in Spain and Italy, Paris eluded me. I watched with avid attention the pictures that received the most interest at the Salon’s exhibits and the ones selling quickly. But as I looked to what was happening beyond my easel, I felt less sure of my creative instincts. If suddenly ocean scenes sold well, did it mean I should change my subject? Sometimes trends influenced artists, but they did not inspire me.
Edgar Degas had moved beyond pure imitation in his pictures. He composed his subjects imaginatively, from fascinating viewpoints. I itched to do the same, in my way, but how? My paintings seemed to ask a question more urgently with each passing day. Do you like me?”
Mary, however, is willing to, even aching to be different. Fortunately for us, she does not give in to uncertainty, even when she is one of few women artists. Other artists help dissolve her fears. While she paints her way to success, besides Degas, Camille Pissarro is a frequent figure in The Cassatt Sisters, someone whom Mary grows close to as a friend. Berthe Morisot, the wife of Eugène Manet, and an artist in her own right is present and befriends Mary. We meet other notables as well—Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte, and Marie Bracquemond—all embedded in an authentic way that enhances the story rather than feels like name dropping.
There is also romance in the novel. As Mary and Degas grow closer, she must decide not only what kind of artist she wants to be but whether she wants to entangle herself with a man, especially one like Degas. Degas has secrets.
So Who Was the Real Mary Cassatt?
The real Mary Cassatt is very much as Groen presents her. I like when authors do this; to me, it honors a historical figure's life and legacy in the purest of ways. But there is more to Cassatt than what is revealed in the novel.
Mary Cassatt is remembered as the only American to exhibit with the French Impressionists. Her art was considered radical for her focus on feminine subject matter, and she was an advocate for women’s rights. On the business side of things, she was considered savvy. Not only did she paint, but she was also a printmaker, leaving her mark in the art world in multiple ways. [1]
Cassatt was born in 1844 in Pittsburgh. Her well-to-do family visited France and Germany when she was young, exposing her to European culture early in life. When she came of age, she studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, then moved to Paris by herself to take private art lessons. This shows what a bold personality she had.
In 1868, the Paris Salon selected her drawing The Mandolin Player for their exhibition. This was a stunning accomplishment. The Salon overlooked women as artists, and we can only imagine how thrilling this must have been for her. But when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, she went to Philadelphia and did not return to Europe until 1871. Instead of going back to Paris, she went to Italy to study art.
Following Italy, she went to Spain, Belgium, and Holland to study the masters there. In 1874 she returned to Paris. Her sister Lydia and their parents joined her in 1877. In The Cassatt Sisters, Groen picks up the narrative from there. Cassatt painted, and it was Degas who encouraged her to expand into printmaking.
What made Cassatt famous was choosing mother and child compositions as her primary art theme. This set her apart from other artists. Before that, she painted her family, Lydia primarily,[2] as depicted in the novel. Below is an image of Lydia at the opera.
Mary Cassatt herself never married. Did she really have an affair with Degas? Art historians say no, that the two were inseparable, but that their forty-year relationship was platonic. This is where Lisa Groen plays a little with history. Why not? Who really knows what went on privately between Cassatt and Degas?
As Cassatt grew older, she became a mentor for other artists and an influencer in art collection. Her eyesight began failing her, and by the early 1900s, she was forced to give up painting and printmaking. She died in 1926 at her home in Grasse, France.
Don’t miss reading The Cassatt Sisters. It’s a visual feast, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. The novel isn’t just about art. Groen paints a vivid picture of the setting as well—the architecture, streets, opera halls, galleries, and restaurants all come to life. The lush sensory detail doesn’t end there. We can almost taste the food the characters nosh on, almost smell the sumptuous feasts they partake of, almost inhale the intense scent of brilliant flower gardens.
Supporting Mary’s story in an even deeper manner, however, is the visual presentation of her paintings directly on the pages of the story, in color in the eBook and in black and white in the paperback. I absolutely treasured this aspect of the novel. Not only did seeing the art in the text save me time having to look the paintings up online (I’m one of those who do that), it enabled me to stay fully present in Mary’s world without interruption.
I love this final painting in the book (below) of two little girls. There is something timeless about them; Cassatt's bold strokes have a visceral feel. Her selection of colors has made sure the sisters will forever stay young and that she will forever remain a relevant artist whose work will appeal to many for ages to come.
If you'd like to receive my next review of a biographical novel about a famous woman from the past, be sure to subscribe to my blog and newsletter here on my website.
N.J. Mastro is the author of Solitary Walker: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft.
Article Sources:
[1] “5 Things to Know about Impressionist Mary Cassatt” by Antonia Smith, September 19, 2024. Retrieved online November 13, 2025 at https://www.famsf.org/stories/5-things-to-know-impressionist-mary-cassatt.
[2] “Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844-1926)” by H. Barbara Weinbert, October 1, 2004, in The Met Museum. Retrieved online November 13, 2025 at https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/mary-stevenson-cassatt-1844-1926.