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Overview

By the time Cassatt exhibited this painting at the eighth and final impressionist exhibition in 1886, her reputation as a painter of mothers and children had been well established. Critics had long commented on her ability to portray her subjects in a tender, yet unsentimental, way: "Oh, my God! those babies! How those portraits have made my flesh crawl, time and again!—A whole passel of English and French smearers has painted them in such stupid, pretentious poses! . . . For the first time, thanks to Mlle. Cassatt, I have seen effigies of enchanting tots, calm and bourgeois scenes, painted with an utterly charming sort of delicate tenderness." Cassatt's focus on a limited range of subjects allowed her to experiment with both the formal elements and painterly qualities of a composition. Her interest in Japanese prints and the process of printmaking can be seen in much of her work after 1883, including Children Playing on the Beach. In this work, Cassatt tightly cropped the scene, tilted the picture plane forward, and reduced the number of objects in the background to draw attention to the two little girls digging in the sand. Absorbed in their activity, they embody the naturalistic attitude prevalent in both art and literature of the time.

Various shades of blue—from the deep electric blue of the dress and shoes to the soft, diffused blue of the ocean—are used throughout the work. Accents of white convey the presence of sunlight bouncing off the dresses, hats, and pails of the little girls. While particular attention is paid to the building of form through color and line in the foreground, the background is reduced to its essential elements through a series of thinly painted scumbles, leaving areas of the priming layer exposed.

Aspects of the painting suggest that it is a nostalgic tribute to Cassatt's beloved sister, Lydia, who died in 1882. Cassatt was so distraught over Lydia's death that she did not paint for six months. Without revealing the identity of the little girls specifically, Cassatt depicted them in a manner that implies that they are related. Playing close together, the girls are comfortable with each other's presence. By positioning them side by side in nearly identical outfits, Cassatt established both a compositional and psychological relationship between the two figures.

As the primary caretaker of her elderly parents and older sister, Cassatt spent much of her adult life juggling the seemingly incompatible roles of nurse-companion and independent artist. In 1884, Cassatt accompanied her ailing mother to Spain to seek the recuperative effects of the seaside climate. Children Playing on the Beach is generally believed to have been painted after her return. Although completed in the studio—x-radiograph studies reveal that Cassatt reworked almost every area of the canvas—the painting nonetheless conveys a sense of spontaneity and freshness. Such coastal scenes were popular among her impressionist contemporaries, but Cassatt rarely delved into the genre. This work, therefore, holds a place of singular importance within her oeuvre.

Inscription

lower right: Mary Cassatt

Provenance

M. Portier; sold 4 April 1899 to (Durand-Ruel, Paris); sold 12 March 1910 to M. Lanquety; by inheritance to his godson, Pierre Marbeau [1901-1991], Paris.[1] Mr. and Mrs. Charles Durand-Ruel, Paris;[2] (Sam Salz, Inc., New York); sold 5 March 1965 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce;[3] bequest 1970 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1886
La 8me Exposition de Peinture [Eighth Impressionist Exhibition], Paris, 1886, no. 11.
1907
Modern French Paintings, Manchester City Art Gallery, 1907-1908, no.71, as Children Playing on the Shore.
1966
French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 120, repro
1970
Mary Cassatt 1844-1926, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,1970, no. 33, repro.
1976
Women Artists: 1550-1950, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University Art Museum, University of Texas, Austin; Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; Brooklyn Museum, 1976-1977, no. 91, repro.
1982
Solitude: Inner Visions in American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, 1982, no. 5, repro.
1986
Capolavori Impressionisti dei Musei Americani, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte, Naples; Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, 1986-1987, no. 2, repro.
1986
The New Painting: Impressionism 1874-1886, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1986, no. 139, repro.
1989
Impressionisti della National Gallery of Art di Washington, Ala Napoleonica e Museo Correr, Venice; Palazzo Reale, Milan, 1989, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
1990
Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 55, repro.
1992
From El Greco to Cézanne: Masterpieces of European Painting from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Metroplitan Museum of Art, New York, National Gallery of Greece, Athens, 1992-1993, no. 58, repro.
1998
Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman, The Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998-1999, no. 47, repro., as Children on the Shore.
2007
Impressionists by the Sea, Royal Academy of Arts, London; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, 2007-2008, no. 69, repro.
2011
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, 2011, no. 6, repro.
2012
Un été au bord de l'eau: Loisirs et impressionnisme, Muée des Beaux-Arts, Caen, 2012-2013, no. 10, repro.
2014
American Impressionism: A New Vision, 1880-1900, Musée des impressionnismes Giverny, Giverny; National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2014 - 2015, no. p. 57.
2016
Mary Cassatt Retrospective, Yokohama Museum of Art; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 2016.
2017
Her Paris: Women Artists in the Age of Impressionism, Denver Art Museum; The Speed Art Museum, Louisville; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2017-2018.

Bibliography

1966
Young, Mahonri Sharp. "The Mellon Collections: The Great Years of French Painting." Apollo 83 (June 1966): 433, repro.
1970
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Oils, Pastels, Watercolors, and Drawings. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1970, no. 131.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 33, repro.
1981
Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: repro. 137, 139.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 564, no. 862, color repro., as Two Children at the Seashore.
1991
Coman, Florence E. Joie de Vivre: French Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1991: no. 22, repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 39, repro.

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