Title: Lydia Cassatt Reading the
Morning Paper
Author: Harriet Scott Chessman
Pages: 164
Publisher: A Plume Book
ISBN: 1583222723
I love Susan Vreeland's books about the
fictionalization of artists' worlds. I stumbled on this title while
browsing for any new work from her and I'm glad I did. It is a quick
read, but gives an interesting perspective of Mary Cassatt's work.
The Impressionists have been growing on me lately, mostly because of
Vreeland's Luncheon of the Boating Party which illustrated the
process of Renoir's collecting and posing the various characters in
his painting.
In this story, the perspective is Mary
Cassatt's older sister Lydia, who for most of her life, has lived in
the shadow of her vibrant sister. In addition, Lydia has a chronic
disease that confines her to her bed frequently. But, what Lydia
doesn't realize that her calm mindfulness and observation of the
world inspires Mary's work. Throughout the book, Lydia struggles
with her perception of herself and the splintering of her life. The
book also has some nice prints of the paintings that Lydia actually
modeled for. I would like to re-read this book just to savor it
again.
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