Mary Cassatt (kuh-saht) is famous for the inventive way she created paintings and prints on one theme: the relationship between mother and child. Cassatt had no children of her own, yet she was able to present the mother and child in everyday settings without making them look sentimental or unoriginal.

Cassatt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to an upper-middle-class banking family. Like many other Americans in their social class, the Cassatts traveled abroad in search of the culture they felt was lacking at home. Through her travels as a child, Cassatt was introduced to European art.

Cassatt studied for a few years at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and then went to France to study. She was intrigued by the French Impressionists, especially the work of Degas. When Degas invited Cassatt to join the Impressionists' group exhibit in 1879, she did so eagerly. Cassatt's early work was more Impressionistic than her later work.

Another important influence on Cassatt was Japanese woodblock prints, which were very popular at that time. After studying those prints, Cassatt's forms became stronger, her colors flatter, and her edges more defined.

During her career, Cassatt produced 225 prints, 300 oil paintings, 400 pastels, and many watercolors and drawings. She was forced to stop painting in 1914 because, like her friend Degas, her eyesight failed.