Artists of the 1880's

                             There were many movements in society during the 1880's.   The rise of big business and art were events that were moving through.   Mary Cassatt, and James Whistler were some of the great artists from this decade.   They were different people with different styles, but they were all cooperating with the arts during their decade.

                             Mary Cassatt was born at Allegheny, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844.   She was the daughter of a rich merchant.  When she was only seven years old, her family decided to move to Paris, France.   While living in Europe she got the feeling that she wanted to become an artist.   When she returned back to the U.S. she told her parents that she got really inspired into art, and she wanted to become an artist.

                             Mary started to paint paintings that she had seen in museums.   Children and women was what she enjoyed painting the most.   She had a passion for children, even though she never ended had some herself.   She is an influence in impressionist art.   She started to change her style of her art, when Edgar Degas inspired her.   She was also a good printmaker.   Etching and aquatint were the major techniques that she would combine to make the most possible out of her style.   She ended up making a series of prints, which is called The Ten .   Mary Cassatt became the accomplished artist that she wanted to become, even though some people thought she wouldn't make it.   Some of her best pieces of art are "Children on the Shore", and "Young Mother & 2 Children".   Mary ended up dying on June 14, 1926.   At this time she was blind already.

                             James Whistler was another great artist in he 1880's.   He was born on July 1834 at Lowell, Massachusetts.   His family moved to Russia and he ended up going to the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg.   His father died in 1849 and the family decided to come back to the U.S.   Years later he ended up going to Europe to study art and he never returned back to the U .S.   One of his first paintings was "The Piano", which was a painting that involved his daughter and his half sister.

                             His love for color, fame, and money was what really inspired him to paint.   Some of his favorite paintings are, The Little Girl, and Arrangement in Black and Grey.   "Arrangement in Black and Grey" was a painting of his mother.   He drew her because she meant a lot to him.   This painting was almost rejected at the Royal Academy.   He never took another of his paintings to that place anymore.   That painting was one of his greatest paintings he did and became famous 20 years after he had done it.   His type of work was what you would call Ultimate Realism because he made everything look so real.   After all his hard work in life James Whistler ended up dying at London in July 17, 1903.

                             Mary Cassatt and James Whistler were two major artists in the 1880's.   Without them, art today wouldn't be the same to what it is right now.   They were each different but still cooperated into the art movement that was going on.   Art was evolving and there were many different styles of it coming out.   Printmaking, Photo Realism was also coming out.   These were styles that were new and inspired other artists to start using these styles too.   

Sources-

Young Mother & 2 Children

Mary Cassatt, White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/art/images/228p.jpg

Mother and Child

Mary Cassatt, Pictopia

http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=207&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=140120