Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born into a wealthy family in Pennsylvania but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar Degas, and later exhibited among the Impressionists.

Cassatt began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, but moved to Paris to study with the masters after growing impatient with the slow instruction pace and patronizing attitude of male students and teachers.

Before starting her professional career, she studied under Jean-Leon Gerome, a highly regarded teacher known for his hyper-realistic technique and his depiction of exotic subjects. She also studied with Charles Chaplin, a noted genre artist, and Thomas Couture, whose subjects were mostly romantic and urban.

Cassatt often created images of the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children. She was described by Gustave Geffroy as one of "les trois grandes dames" (the three great ladies) of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot. In 1879, Diego Martelli compared her to Degas, as they both sought to depict movement, light, and design in the most modern sense.