The Artist's Father Reading

The Artist's Father Reading by Mary Cassatt American, 1844-1926, is an intimate graphite drawing executed on ivory wove paper between 1880 and 1885. Classified as a drawing rather than a finished painting, the piece offers a direct, naturalistic study of the artist's father, Robert Simpson Cassatt, captured during a quiet, private moment of reading. The medium emphasizes the spontaneity and technical immediacy characteristic of Cassatt’s preparatory works, revealing her keen observational skills and ability to convey character through subtle gestures and posture.

Although the artist spent the majority of her professional life in France, integrating herself deeply within the European Impressionist movement, her artistic origins remained tied to the United States. This work belongs to a significant phase in her career when she frequently turned her focus toward family members and domestic scenes, prioritizing psychological insight and naturalism over formal academic strictures. Cassatt’s delicate use of graphite achieves a remarkable degree of texture, detailing the subject's clothing and the intense focus etched on his face.

The Art Institute of Chicago holds this significant drawing, which contributes essential insight into the technical methods the artist employed before developing her larger, more complex compositions. Representing the American presence within late 19th-century modern art, The Artist's Father Reading remains a celebrated example of Cassatt's mature draftsmanship. The enduring appeal and importance of her work means that high-quality prints and digital reproductions of this drawing are increasingly accessible through various collections, including those available in the public domain for research and appreciation.