There is a widespread interest in Impressionist painting, and exhibitions on this accessible movement often draw a large and diverse audience. Unfortunately, most of these events display remarkable few works by the female contemporaries of Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, and Pissarro. Yet there were quite a number of professional female artists in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the exceptional, attractive oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, drawings, and etchings in this volume are by four of the most significant. The works by these French and American artists Berthe Morisot, a central figure in the Impressionist movement; Mary Cassatt, a very independent artist and a respected colleague of Degas s; Eva Gonzalès, one of Manet s most talented pupils; and Marie Bracquemond, whose small oeuvre is of the highest quality reflect their various lives and experiences as women. Until now, they have never been exhibited together, and this publication contains many unfamiliar and surprising images, waiting to be discovered by both fans of and newcomers to Impressionism.
