Mary Cassatt

“There are two ways for a painter: the broad and easy one or the narrow and hard one.”

“I have touched with a sense of art some people—they felt the love and the life. Can you offer me anything to compare to that joy for an artist?”

“It is as well to know which way you are going.”

“Why do people so love to wander? I think the civilized parts of the world will suffice for me in the future.”

“I am independent! I can live alone and I love to work.”

“I think that if you shake the tree, you ought to be around when the fruit falls to pick it up.”

“I have not been able to see what I wanted to see when I was here, and I will not be able to see it when I am gone.”

“I used to go and flatten my nose against that window and absorb all I could of his art. It changed my life.”

“At some future time, I shall see New York the artist's ground. I think you will create an American school.”

“American women have been spoiled, treated and indulged like children; they must wake up to their duties.”

“I hated conventional art. I began to live.”

“There's only one thing in life for a woman; it's to be a mother... A woman artist must be... capable of making sacrifices.”