Mothers and Daughters|Mary Cassatt Artist-Sculptures of Mother's and Daughters

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As I contemplated the artwork of Mary Cassatt I wrote a poem called "Sculptures of Mothers and Daughters-A Poem of Remembrance". I have posted it here below.
I am a sculptor as well so it all seemed to fit quite well, Mary Cassatt, her loving pastels and paintings of children and their mothers, and me.

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"Sculptures of Mothers and Daughters-A Poem of Remembrance"

Sculptures of mothers and daughters
tender works of art
cast to be remembered
this day
this loving day.

Mature women remember
mark birthdays on calendars
keep boxes with ribbons ready
cards already signed.

Fine art paintings
reproductions of the moment
in time
that will always be held dear
and ever so close to the heart.

Daughters will always be treasured
butterflies and roses
swings in the afternoon
daisies to pluck
to see is they have found true love.

Mary Cassett
gentle pastels
mothers and their daughters
living lives of peaceful days.
So tender each mark
pastel colors of grace.

Sculptures of mothers and daughters
made from bronze
cast forever
defining the sentiment
forever to last
forever token of caring.

Mothers reading to daughters
Humpty Dumpty illustrations
Mary Poppins
and Disney on Ice.
Fairy dust on pillows
Hans Christian Anderson
now Harry Potter Tales
lovingly read
to daughters by their mothers.

Teen age years come and gone
girls meeting the women they would become.
How quickly it all did pass.
Now with babes of their own
creating poses like Mary Cassatt.

These days to be treasured
remembered and written down.
These kind days
soft breezes sing
children's chatter remembered
through tears
longing to take those day back again.
Sculptures of mothers and daughters
tokens of glorious days
held close.

by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2008

So many women artists have been overlooked in art history, not Mary Cassatt though. Her work is too wonderful to pass over.

Known for her perceptive depictions of women and children, Mary Cassatt was one of the few American artists active in the nineteenth-century French avant-garde. Born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania to a prominent Pittsburgh family, she traveled extensively through Europe with her parents and siblings while a child. The Cup of Tea, 1879 Between 1860 and 1864 she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. At the age of twenty-two Cassatt went abroad, studying old master paintings in European museums. In Paris, she studied with prominent academic painters and independently at the Louvre. Returning to the United States for a short period, Cassatt went back to Europe in 1871, spending her time painting and copying the old masters in museums in Italy, Spain, and Belgium. In 1874 she settled permanently in Paris. Although she had several works accepted for exhibition by the tradition-bound French Salon, her artistic aims aligned her with the avant-garde painters of the time. In 1877, Edgar Degas invited her invited her to exhibit with his fellow impressionists. One of the works she showed was The Cup of Tea (1879, Metropolitan Museum, New York City), a portrait of her sister Lydia in luminescent shades of pink. She particularly admired the work of Degas, as well as that of Manet and Courbet. A close working relationship developed between Cassatt and Degas. The boating party, 1893 Beginning in 1882 Cassatt's style took a new turn. Influenced, like Degas, by Japanese woodcuts, she began to emphasize line rather than form or mass and experimented with asymmetric composition as in The Boating Party (1893, National Gallery, Washington, D.C.) and informal, natural gestures and positions. Portrayals of mothers and children in intimate relationship and domestic settings, such as The Mirror (1900?, Brooklyn Museum, New York City), became her theme. Her portraits were not commissioned. Instead, she used members of her own family as subjects. With loss of sight she was no longer able to paint after 1914. During her long residence in France, Cassatt sent paintings back to exhibitions in the United States. Thus, hers were among the first impressionist works seen in this country. In advising wealthy American patrons on what to acquire, she also played a crucial role in the formation of some of the most important collections of impressionist art in this country.