This groundbreaking new study redefines Mary Cassatt's status in the Parisian avant-garde and in American art, placing her work in the wider context of nineteenth-century feminism and art theory. Admired by Degas--who invited her to exhibit with the Impressionists in 1877--Cassatt brought a New Women's perspective to the theater, drawing room, garden, and studio. Griselda Pollock emphasizes Cassatt's study of Old Masters and interest in Manet's work, and stresses her great influence on the creation of American collections of French modernism. She argues that Cassatt's experimentation with etching and pastels from the late 1880s enabled her to represent women and children without sentiment, but with a deepening awareness of a complex psychological charge. Professor of Social and Critical Histories of Art at the University of Leeds, Griselda Pollock's many books include Old Mistresses: Women, Art, and Ideology (with Roszika Parker).