The Banjo Lesson

c. 1893

Mary Cassatt

Associated Names
Mary Cassatt

Artist, American, 1844 - 1926

This print shows two women sitting together. The woman in the front is seated, holding a banjo, with her body turned to us and her face looking to the right. The neck of the banjo points to the right. The woman in front has dark hair styled neatly behind her head, dark eyebrows, long eyelashes, and lips set in a neutral expression. She is wearing a long-sleeved dress with puffy teal sleeves, a white and light blue striped bodice, and a light blue skirt with pink polka dots, with a yellow scarf around her neck. Her arms are positioned around the banjo. The second woman sits behind her, her hands on the banjo player's shoulders, watching her play. This woman has lighter colored hair with short bangs, and wears a light pink dress. She appears younger than the other woman. Both of them have pale yellow skin. The background is plain beige paper.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1986

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., February 1986.

1989

  • Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA, 1989-1990, no. 16-IV (NGA), repro.

2016

  • Three Centuries of American Prints: from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington; National Gallery in Prague, Prague 1; Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 2016 - 2017, no. 56.

Bibliography

1979

  • Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme. Mary Cassatt: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Graphic Work. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979, no. 156, iv/iv.

1989

  • Mathews, Nancy Mowll, and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Mary Cassatt: The Color Prints. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1989, no. 16, iv/iv.

1996

  • Mathews, Nancy Mowll. Cassatt: A Retrospective. New York: H.L. Levin Associates, 1996, p. 222.

2014

  • Jones, Kimberly A. Degas/Cassat. Exh. Cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2014: 110-111, fig. 11.

Inscriptions

lower right in graphite: Mary Cassatt

Wikidata ID

Q65362432

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