In the 1890's Mary Cassatt and James Whistler were two key artists. Mary Cassatt was an impressionist artist. James whistler was very controversial in his art; ometimes he even used his own family members in the art. They both were great artists.

Mary Cassatt was born at Allegheny, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844. She was the daughter of Robert Cassatt (a stockbroker) and her mother Katherine Johnston (came from a banking family). They were a very wealthy family. She grew up in a very intellectual environment. Her family never really wanted her to become an artist because they didn't think she would become successful. She was very helpful in impressionism art. She was a very good printmaker. She started to change her style of art, when Edgar Degas inspired her. Etching and aquatint were the major techniques that she used.   She created a series of prints called The Ten. Mary Cassatt proved all the people that didn't think she would become great by becoming the great artist that she is. Two of her best pieces are "Children on the Shore" and "Young Mother & 2 Children". Mary Cassatt died on June 14, 1926 at Mesnil-Theribus, France. She was one of the greatest female American Painters.

James Whistler was another great artist of the 1890's. He was born on July 11, 1834 at Lowell, Massachusetts. His family moved to Russia when he was fairly young. When in Russia he went to the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. His father died in 1849 and his family decided they should move back to the US. "The Piano" was one of his first paintings that included his daughter and half-sister. His love for color, money and fame was wh at really inspired him to paint. Some of his favorite paintings are, The Little White Girl and Arrangement in Black and Grey. "Arrangement of Black and Grey" was a picture of his mother. He created it because his mother meant a lot to him. That painting was almost reject at the Royal academy. After that he never went back there. That painting was one of his greatest paintings and it became famous 20 years after it was created. His work was Ultimate Realism because he made majority of his work look so real. James Whistler ended his life in Cheswick, London on July 17, 1903.

Mary Cassatt and James Whistler were two major artists in the 1890's. They had different types of art but still both were great and successful.   Mary Cassatt was an impressionist artist and James Whistler was an Ultimate Realism artist. People created music on the Spanish-American war but they created art. They were both very great artist of the 1890's.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Whistler