Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris

The National Gallery of Art marks the centenary of Mary Cassatt’s death with “Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris,” an intimate exhibition drawn almost entirely from the museum’s own extensive holdings. The show brings together roughly forty paintings, drawings, and prints that trace the artist’s career from her early academic training to her radical experiments in color printmaking and her enduring focus on the private lives of women and children. Organized across three galleries within the museum’s impressionist collection, the exhibition emphasizes how Cassatt defied the conventions of her time, blending a classical sense of composition with the loose brushwork and modern subjects of Impressionism. Rarely seen treasures—such as the color drypoint and aquatint *In the Omnibus*—hang alongside iconic oils like *Little Girl in a Blue Armchair* and *Woman with a Sunflower*. The show also highlights Cassatt’s achievements as a printmaker, a medium in which she was among the most innovative of her generation.

Dates: February 14 through August 30, 2026
Venue: National Gallery of Art, West Building, Main Floor, Gallery M86 (6th and Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20565)
Admission: Always free; no passes or tickets required
Number of Works: Approximately 40 paintings, drawings, and prints
Curators: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington; curated by Kimberly A. Jones (curator of nineteenth-century French paintings), Rena Hoisington (curator and head, department of old master prints), Mary Morton (curator and head, department of French paintings), and Michelle Bird (curatorial associate, department of French paintings)
Sponsorship: Major support provided by the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, with additional support from the Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation
Related Content: The museum offers an interactive article on Cassatt as a daring printmaker, an article on her depiction of girls and women, and a short film about a community mural inspired by her work (all accessible via the exhibition webpage)
Note: The exhibition occupies three galleries within the National Gallery’s impressionist collection, allowing visitors to see Cassatt’s work in dialogue with the movement she helped define.