Mary Cassatt — L’Indépendante — Musée d’Orsay — Exhibition — Slash Paris

In about 1 month: October 6, 2026 → January 31, 2027

To mark the centenary of Mary Cassatt’s death (1844–1926), the Musée d’Orsay is presenting a major retrospective dedicated to this leading figure of Impressionism. The first large scale exhibition devoted to the artist in France, it seeks to reassess her essential role in the history of art and highlight the independence that shaped both her life and her work.

Bringing together nearly eighty paintings, pastels, and prints from European and American collections, Mary Cassatt, The Independent offers a fresh perspective on her entire career through previously unpublished archives and correspondence. American by birth but based in France for nearly sixty years, Cassatt established herself in a predominantly male artistic world by asserting her professional autonomy and her determination to live from her art.

The exhibition explores her decisive contribution to the Impressionist movement, which she joined in 1879 at the invitation of Edgar Degas. Her depictions of women in the spaces of modern life, together with her celebrated scenes of mothers and children, reveal an innovative vision of women’s experiences and contributed significantly to her success among collectors.

The exhibition also highlights her role as an advisor to American art patrons, helping to promote Impressionism in the United States. It further examines one of the defining achievements of her career, Modern Woman, the monumental decoration created for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, as well as her commitment to women’s suffrage. Through both her artistic practice and her public engagement, Mary Cassatt emerges as a pioneering figure whose pursuit of independence left a lasting mark on her era.