Child Picking a Fruit (Primary Title)
Enfant cueillant un fruit (Translation)
Mary Cassatt, American, 1844 - 1926 (Artist)
Child Picking a Fruit merges the subject that made Mary Cassatt famous—a young woman (possibly a mother) and child—with her more ambitious examination of “modern woman,” a topical theme at the turn of the 20th century as the women’s suffrage movement gained momentum. The image derives from the artist’s now-lost Modern Woman mural commission, produced for the Woman’s Building of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For this prestigious world’s fair, Cassatt presented her allegorical subject in a three-panel lunette. The large central panel, Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge, featured women of different ages, clad in contemporary dress and communally harvesting fruit from an orchard.
signed lower left: "Mary Cassatt"
Gift of Ivor and Anne Massey
"Cassatt - McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, June 3 - September 4, 2023
"Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters and France", Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, November 14, 2021 - March 13, 2022; VMFA, April 16 - July 31, 2022
"Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900", Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, June 9 - September 3, 2018
Mary Cassatt, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, June 25 - September 11, 2016; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, September 27 - December 4, 2016.
Monet and American Impressionism, Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, February 3 - May 24, 2015
Degas/Cassatt, National Gallery of Art, May 11-Oct. 5, 2014
Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalèz, Marie Bracquemond, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, June 21 - January 20, 2008
L'Impressionisme vu d'Amérique, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, June 2 - September 9, 2007; Musée de Grenoble, October 9, 2007 - Janary 20, 2008.
Mary Cassatt, A Retrospective, Art Institute of Chicago, October 10, 1998 - January 10, 1999; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 6, 1999 - May 10, 1999; National Gallery of Art, June 5, 1999 - September 6, 1999.
America Around 1900: Impressionism, Realism, and Modern Life, VMFA, June 14 - September 17, 1995; Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, October 27, 1995 - January 14, 1996.
Les Femmes Impressionistes, Morisot, Cassatt, Gonzalès, Musée d'art, Isetan, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, March 2 - April 11. 1995.
Falling in Love Again, VMFA, Philip Morris Gallery, July 1 - September 25, 1994.
American Impressionism, Fondazione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Villa Favorita, Lugano, Switzerland, July 22 - October 28, 1990.
Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints, National Gallery of Art, June 18 - August 27, 1989; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, September 9 - November 5, 1989; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Mass., November 25, 1989 - January 21, 1990.
The Art of Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, June 11 - July 7, 1981; Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, Nara, July 25 - August 30, 1981.
Five Years of Collection, VMFA, March 25 - May 4, 1980.
Degas, VMFA, May 23 - July 9, 1978.
American Expatriots of the Late 19th Century, Dayton Art Institute, December 4, 1976 - January 16, 1977; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, February 4 - March 20, 1977; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, April 12 - May 29, 1977.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, Paris, November, 1908, #14.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, New York, April, 1895, #4.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, Paris, November-December, 1893, #2.
"Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters and France", Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, November 14, 2021 - March 13, 2022; VMFA, April 16 - July 31, 2022
"Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900", Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, June 9 - September 3, 2018
Mary Cassatt, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan, June 25 - September 11, 2016; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, September 27 - December 4, 2016.
Monet and American Impressionism, Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, February 3 - May 24, 2015
Degas/Cassatt, National Gallery of Art, May 11-Oct. 5, 2014
Women Impressionists: Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalèz, Marie Bracquemond, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, June 21 - January 20, 2008
L'Impressionisme vu d'Amérique, Musée Fabre, Montpellier, June 2 - September 9, 2007; Musée de Grenoble, October 9, 2007 - Janary 20, 2008.
Mary Cassatt, A Retrospective, Art Institute of Chicago, October 10, 1998 - January 10, 1999; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 6, 1999 - May 10, 1999; National Gallery of Art, June 5, 1999 - September 6, 1999.
America Around 1900: Impressionism, Realism, and Modern Life, VMFA, June 14 - September 17, 1995; Museum of Art, Ft. Lauderdale, October 27, 1995 - January 14, 1996.
Les Femmes Impressionistes, Morisot, Cassatt, Gonzalès, Musée d'art, Isetan, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, March 2 - April 11. 1995.
Falling in Love Again, VMFA, Philip Morris Gallery, July 1 - September 25, 1994.
American Impressionism, Fondazione Thyssen-Bornemisza, Villa Favorita, Lugano, Switzerland, July 22 - October 28, 1990.
Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints, National Gallery of Art, June 18 - August 27, 1989; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, September 9 - November 5, 1989; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Mass., November 25, 1989 - January 21, 1990.
The Art of Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Isetan Museum of Art, Tokyo, June 11 - July 7, 1981; Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, Nara, July 25 - August 30, 1981.
Five Years of Collection, VMFA, March 25 - May 4, 1980.
Degas, VMFA, May 23 - July 9, 1978.
American Expatriots of the Late 19th Century, Dayton Art Institute, December 4, 1976 - January 16, 1977; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, February 4 - March 20, 1977; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, April 12 - May 29, 1977.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, Paris, November, 1908, #14.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, New York, April, 1895, #4.
Cassatt, Galérie Durand-Ruel, Paris, November-December, 1893, #2.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.