Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter

by Barbara Herkert, Gabi Swiatkowska (Illustrator)

Overview

Mary Cassatt was a headstrong, determined girl. She wanted to be an artist in 1860, a time when proper girls certainly weren't artists. It wasn't polite. But Mary herself wasn't polite. She pursued art with a passion, moving to Paris to study, painting what she saw. Her work was rejected by the Salon judges time and time again. One day, the great painter Edgar Degas invited her to join him and his group of independent artists, those who flouted the rules and painted as they pleased—the Impressionists. Mary was on her way.

"I began to live," said Mary. Today, her paintings hang in museums around the world and she is recognized as one of the most celebrated female artists of all time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627799270
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	98 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Barbara Herkert has her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University, and she studied art and art history at Oregon State University. She is the Illustrator Coordinator for SCBWI-Oregon.

Gabi Swiatkowska has illustrated many notable books for children, including My Name Is Yoon, for which she received the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, Arrowhawk, Waiting for Gregory, and Queen on Wednesday. She lives in France.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/20/2015
Herkert and Swiatkowska present an enchanting portrait of an uncompromising artist, and from the start there’s no mistaking that Cassatt was uninterested in hewing to social and artistic conventions. “In 1860, proper girls weren’t artists. They had polite hobbies—flower arranging, needlepoint. Not Mary,” Herkert writes, as Swiatkowska pictures a young Cassatt glowering, arms crossed over her chest (one suspects she’s about to rip the giant white bow off her own head). Swiatkowska does an exceptional job of evoking Cassatt’s artwork and era while staying true to the idiosyncrasies of her own work, and as Herkert follows Cassatt from art school to Europe and friendship with Degas, the rewards of creating art on one’s own terms become abundantly clear. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A CBC NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
An Oregon Spirit Book Award Honor Book

“Herkert and Swiatkowska present an enchanting portrait of an uncompromising artist. . . Swiatkowska does an exceptional job of evoking Cassatt's artwork and era while staying true to the idiosyncrasies of her own work, and as Herkert follows Cassatt from art school to Europe and friendship with Degas, the rewards of creating art on one's own terms become abundantly clear.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Herkert’s brief, lyrical sentences capture both Mary’s profound connection to art and her enduring significance in the art world. Swiatkowska’s textured mixed-media paintings on saturated double-page spreads echo Cassatt’s own painting style and palette, frequently recreating her famous pieces."-The Horn Book

"Herkert never misses an opportunity to emphasize Cassatt’s opinionated,
determined personality, which is a valuable takeaway for young readers. . . Swiatkowska’s lush paintings beautifully evoke Cassatt’s signature style.Little ones fresh off a museum visit will likely appreciate this warm introduction to a pioneering artist."-Booklist

From the Publisher

10/01/2015
Gr 3–5—Art with a capital A leaps from every page of this gorgeous picture book biography, but in the end, readers are left with a muddled view of Mary Cassatt. Combining gouache, watercolors, acrylics, enamel, and tempera, Swiatkowska presents a visually arresting view of the artist's life. Most of the illustrations are spreads with thickly layered backgrounds. Small splashes of bright colors or textures let images stand out from muted backdrops. The black and gray scenes of Cassatt's childhood give way to lighter tones for the ones that take place after she was able to go to Paris to further her studies. As Herkert describes how Cassatt grew as an artist, the palette becomes brighter and less oppressive. Images from Cassatt's paintings appear throughout, but there is no guide or listing. Those unfamiliar with Cassatt may be confused when a version of Rembrandt's Syndics of the Clothmakers' Guild is adapted in one spread or when Edgar Degas's The Ballet Class and L'Absinthe are used in others. While having kids identify the different works could be a great extension for art classes, the approach is somewhat sophisticated for younger children. While Swiatkowska's artistic expression is impressive, it does not fully extend the text and contribute to readers' understanding of Cassatt's artistry. Quotations from Cassatt's letters provide glimpses into her feelings about painting, but without more context, readers may have trouble appreciating Cassatt's larger significance in the art world. VERDICT Useful as a supplemental resource, but not essential for every collection.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

School Library Journal

2015-07-27
Starting in childhood, impressionist artist Mary Cassatt carves her own path. Mary grows up "tall and temperamental," absolutely set on being an artist despite the 1860s social mores dictating that "proper girls weren't artists. They had polite hobbies—flower arranging, needlepoint." She attends art school and goes to Paris, sitting in the Louvre to copy the old masters. Connecting with Edgar Degas gives her a community that supports her independent streak: "We paint as we please. We break the judges' rules." Herkert's bold phrasing—"Mary swept jewel tones across her canvas"—implies artistic zest. However, despite varied media (gouache, watercolor, acrylic, enamel, and tempera), Swiatkowska's illustrations don't match the text's descriptions. A spread of "canary yellow, radiant pink, vibrant blue" shows no yellow at all (tan instead) and pleasant but low-intensity blue and pink. "Brilliant tones" and "lightning bolts of white" are narrated but not shown. Skin tones and backgrounds lean toward gray. Readers sophisticated enough to appreciate sentences like "she rendered cropped angles" will notice how much more is told than shown, including the fact that Cassatt is portrayed actually painting only once. Regrettably, Asian art is labeled "exotic." Though the text works hard to convey it, getting an aesthetic sense of Cassatt's famous body of work will require another source. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews