Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Kennedy & Company, New York, New York
Private collection, c. 1923
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition HistoryPublished References
Mary Cassatt
(American, 1844–1926)
The Bath
1890–91
Drypoint, aquatint in color and softground etching on ivory laid paper
Plate: 12 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (32.1 x 25.1 cm)
Sheet: 17 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (44.5 x 49.5 cm)
Mat: 23 3/8 x 20 in. (59.4 x 50.8 cm)
Sheet: 17 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (44.5 x 49.5 cm)
Mat: 23 3/8 x 20 in. (59.4 x 50.8 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection
Object number1994.4
SignedIn graphite lower center to lower right: Edition et 2 epreuves Imprimée par l'artiste et M. Leroy/Mary Cassatt
InterpretationIn her print The Bath, Mary Cassatt presents a woman in a patterned yellow dress crouching besides a blue tub; her right hand tests the water's temperature, while her left arm restrains a squirming, pudgy nude toddler. The room setting is evoked by a hint of warm color over fine aquatint tone, with a single horizontal line at center right defining where floor and wall meet. Cassatt used drypoint technique to outline each figure, to delineate strands of the woman's and the child's dark hair and eyelashes, and to articulate the folds and collar of the yellow dress, its surface further enlivened with a sprig pattern created in aquatint. A few lines and a subtle veil of pale blue evoke the rippled surface of the transparent tub water. The Bath expresses the poignancy of an intimate moment devoted to an ordinary duty of child care, while it monumentalizes the bond of mother and child.
Long an admirer of the flattened, asymmetrical compositions and female-focused, domestic subjects of traditional Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Cassatt was inspired by those she saw at a major exhibition in Paris in 1890 to embark on an ambitious series of ten color aquatints. In the difficult task of printing them she was assisted by an otherwise unidentified Monsieur Leroy, a Paris-based professional printer acknowledged by her on this impression. The resulting works, which include, in addition to The Bath, The Lamp (TF 1999.29), In the Omnibus (TF 1999.27), Woman Bathing (TF 1996.87), Maternal Caress (TF 1994.5), and Afternoon Tea Party (TF 1994.13), are now regarded as a feat of innovation and a landmark in printmaking history. As the earliest of the series, The Bath was Cassatt's first attempt to adapt a Japanese color woodcut version of the subject into intaglio, a technique with which she was more familiar. Cassatt applied colored inks to the plates selectively so as to better modulate the softness of the hues. Influenced by the aesthetic and style of Japanese prints, she flattened pictorial space, simplified outlines, and incorporated asymmetry, patterning, and areas of flat color into this image of a modern, western mother and child. Like the Japanese print she emulated, The Bath is a work of beauty and technical finesse.
Long an admirer of the flattened, asymmetrical compositions and female-focused, domestic subjects of traditional Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Cassatt was inspired by those she saw at a major exhibition in Paris in 1890 to embark on an ambitious series of ten color aquatints. In the difficult task of printing them she was assisted by an otherwise unidentified Monsieur Leroy, a Paris-based professional printer acknowledged by her on this impression. The resulting works, which include, in addition to The Bath, The Lamp (TF 1999.29), In the Omnibus (TF 1999.27), Woman Bathing (TF 1996.87), Maternal Caress (TF 1994.5), and Afternoon Tea Party (TF 1994.13), are now regarded as a feat of innovation and a landmark in printmaking history. As the earliest of the series, The Bath was Cassatt's first attempt to adapt a Japanese color woodcut version of the subject into intaglio, a technique with which she was more familiar. Cassatt applied colored inks to the plates selectively so as to better modulate the softness of the hues. Influenced by the aesthetic and style of Japanese prints, she flattened pictorial space, simplified outlines, and incorporated asymmetry, patterning, and areas of flat color into this image of a modern, western mother and child. Like the Japanese print she emulated, The Bath is a work of beauty and technical finesse.
Kennedy & Company, New York, New York
Private collection, c. 1923
Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, New York
Terra Foundation for the Arts Collection, Chicago, Illinois, 1994
Exhibition History
Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915 (Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 1995. [exh. cat.]
Regard sur Mary Cassatt (Mary Cassatt at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 2–October 31, 1996.
American Artists and the Paris Experience, 1880–1910, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 22, 1997–March 8, 1998.
The Decorative Form: The Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts and the Asian Influence in American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 16–December 5, 1999.
Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
Mary Cassatt, graveur impressionniste (Mary Cassatt: Impressionist Printmaker), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 3, 2005. [exh. cat.]
Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont (organizer). Venues: Shelburne Museum, June 21–October 26, 2008; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, November 21, 2008–January 25, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Regard sur Mary Cassatt (Mary Cassatt at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 2–October 31, 1996.
American Artists and the Paris Experience, 1880–1910, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 22, 1997–March 8, 1998.
The Decorative Form: The Aesthetic Movement, Arts & Crafts and the Asian Influence in American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, September 16–December 5, 1999.
Héroïque et le quotidien: les artistes américains, 1820–1920 (The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–November 30, 2001. [exh. cat.]
Mary Cassatt, graveur impressionniste (Mary Cassatt: Impressionist Printmaker), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–July 3, 2005. [exh. cat.]
Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family, Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont (organizer). Venues: Shelburne Museum, June 21–October 26, 2008; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, November 21, 2008–January 25, 2009. [exh. cat.]
Ives, Colta Feller. The Great Wave: The Influence of Japanese Woodcuts on French Prints. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974. Text pp. 45–55 (discusses Mary Cassatt print The Bath, here titled The Tub, cited specifically on pp. 46–47 as Cassatt's first attempt to follow Utamaro's model).
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. The Graphic Work of Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. No. 143, pp. 61–62; ill. p. 140 (color).
Getlin, Frank. Mary Cassatt: Paintings and Prints. New York: Abbeville Press, 1980. Text p. 76; ill. p. 77 (color impression from The National Gallery of Art).
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: Graphic Art. (exh. cat., Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981. No. 32 (color impression from the Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute).
Mathews, Nancy Mowll and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. (exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts). Boston, Massachusetts: Museum of Fine Arts, 1989. No. 5, pp. 103–109.
Reymond, Nathalie. Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text p. 28; ill. p. 26 (color). [specific reference to Terra print]
Barter, Judith A. Mary Cassatt, Modern Woman. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998. No. 56, p. 278 (color impression from The Art Institute of Chicago, acc. no. 1932.1287).
Adelson, Warren et al. Mary Cassatt: Prints and Drawings from the Artist's Studio. (exh. cat., Adelson Galleries, Inc.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000. Text pp. 76–79; ill. pp. 76-79 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 8; fig. 8, p. 8 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print]
Cartwright, Derrick R. L'Héroïque et le quotidian: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 8; fig. 8, p. 8 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print]
Mary Cassatt: Impressions. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2005; Paris: Le Passage Paris–New York Éditions, 2005. Text p. 56 (checklist); ill. p. 61 (color).
Matthews, Nancy Mowll. Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family. (exh. cat., Shelburne Museum). Shelburne, Vermont: Shelburne Museum, Inc., 2008. Text p. 22; ill. fig. 24, p. 24 (color).
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. The Graphic Work of Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. No. 143, pp. 61–62; ill. p. 140 (color).
Getlin, Frank. Mary Cassatt: Paintings and Prints. New York: Abbeville Press, 1980. Text p. 76; ill. p. 77 (color impression from The National Gallery of Art).
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: Graphic Art. (exh. cat., Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981. No. 32 (color impression from the Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute).
Mathews, Nancy Mowll and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. (exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts). Boston, Massachusetts: Museum of Fine Arts, 1989. No. 5, pp. 103–109.
Reymond, Nathalie. Un regard américain sur Paris (An American Glance at Paris). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text p. 28; ill. p. 26 (color). [specific reference to Terra print]
Barter, Judith A. Mary Cassatt, Modern Woman. (exh. cat., The Art Institute of Chicago). Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998. No. 56, p. 278 (color impression from The Art Institute of Chicago, acc. no. 1932.1287).
Adelson, Warren et al. Mary Cassatt: Prints and Drawings from the Artist's Studio. (exh. cat., Adelson Galleries, Inc.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000. Text pp. 76–79; ill. pp. 76-79 (color).
Cartwright, Derrick R. The Extraordinary and the Everyday: American Perspectives, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 8; fig. 8, p. 8 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print]
Cartwright, Derrick R. L'Héroïque et le quotidian: les artistes américains, 1820–1920. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2001. Text p. 8; fig. 8, p. 8 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print]
Mary Cassatt: Impressions. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2005; Paris: Le Passage Paris–New York Éditions, 2005. Text p. 56 (checklist); ill. p. 61 (color).
Matthews, Nancy Mowll. Mary Cassatt: Friends and Family. (exh. cat., Shelburne Museum). Shelburne, Vermont: Shelburne Museum, Inc., 2008. Text p. 22; ill. fig. 24, p. 24 (color).