Nursing

ca. 1890

Not on view

For nearly three quarters of the nineteenth century, upper- and middle-class Parisian families typically employed wet nurses to feed their infants. With the development of a science of child-rearing later in the century, it was increasingly advocated that mothers should nurse their own offspring. Here, the woman’s glazed expression conveys psychological distance from the child despite their physical connection.

Artwork Details

Title: Nursing
Artist: Mary Cassatt (American, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1844–1926 Le Mesnil-Théribus, Oise)
Date: ca. 1890
Medium: Drypoint; third state of three
Dimensions: plate: 9 1/4 x 6 15/16 in. (23.5 x 17.6 cm)
sheet: 12 1/16 x 9 1/4 in. (30.6 x 23.5 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: 29.107.88
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Mary Cassatt

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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The Map, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; second state of three — The Map
Mary Cassatt
1890

Mother Berthe Holding Her Child, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; second state of two — Mother Berthe Holding Her Child
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1889

The Barefooted Child, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint and aquatint, printed in color from three plates; fifth state of five — The Barefooted Child
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1896–97

The Stocking, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; fifth state of six — The Stocking
Mary Cassatt
1890

The Mirror, Mary Cassatt American, Drypoint; sixth state of six — The Mirror
Mary Cassatt
ca. 1891

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