Lady at the Tea Table
Mary Cassatt American
This work depicts Mary Dickinson Riddle, first cousin of Cassatt's mother, presiding at tea, a daily ritual among upper-middle-class women on both sides of the Atlantic. Mrs. Riddle's hand rests on the handle of a teapot, part of a gilded blue-and-white Canton porcelain service her daughter had given to the artist's family. Painted in appreciation, the portrait reveals Cassatt's Impressionist technique in its sketch-like finish, palette, and compressed space. The work was ultimately rejected by Riddle's family, and remained with Cassatt until her long-time friend Louisine Havemeyer persuaded her to donate it to The Met.
#4374. Lady at the Tea Table
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