Lady at the Tea Table

Mary Cassatt

1883–85 · Oil on canvas · The American Wing

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.

Artist

Mary Cassatt

Date

1883–85

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of the artist, 1923