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Mary Cassatt, Summertime, and Helen Galloway McNicoll, Picking Flowers

Mary Cassatt, Summertime, 1894. Oil on canvas, 100.6 x 81.3 cm. Terra Foundation of American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection. 1988.25. Photo Terra Foundation of American Art, Chicago. Right: Helen Galloway McNicoll, Picking Flowers, c. 1912. Oil on canvas, 94 x 78.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of R. Fraser Elliott, Toronto, in memory of Betty Ann Elliott, 1992. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 92/102.

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Cassatt – McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds

May 31, 2023 - September 4, 2023

Located on Level 2.

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ARTISTS
ARTWORKS
RESOURCES
AUDIO GUIDE
RELATED EVENTS

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

This groundbreaking exhibition brings together for the first time the work of two extraordinary Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt (American, 1844-1926) and Helen McNicoll (Canadian, 1879-1915).  Renowned for their depictions of modern womanhood, their work had a profound impact on the development and proliferation of Impressionism in North America.

This original and eye-opening exhibition draws upon the AGO’s significant collection of McNicoll works and it is the first in Canadian history to centre Cassatt’s paintings and works on paper. Educated in Philadelphia and Montreal, Cassatt and McNicoll both left North America for Europe in their early 20s to study and pursue art professionally. Cassatt was an original member of the Impressionist movement in Paris, and a generation later, McNicoll contributed to the movement’s evolution and spread around the globe. 

Curated by Caroline Shields, Curator of European Art at the AGO, and showcasing more than 65 artworks including paintings, prints and sketch books, this innovative exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated publication.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Mary Cassatt was born in Pittsburgh in 1844 to a wealthy family. Following training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, she relocated to Paris to further her studies. Cassatt travelled briefly to Italy, Spain, Belgium and Holland before settling permanently in Paris, where she was often joined by members of her family. She was the only North American artist to exhibit with the French Impressionists, showing in four of their eight official exhibitions. Cassatt became known for her nuanced portrayals of modern women characterized by vigorous brushwork. She worked alongside dealers and prominent art collectors, advocating in favour of modern art purchases that would later form major American collections. Despite her success, and the important role she played as an art advisor, her work is vastly under represented in Canada, as no Canadian museum owns a painting by Cassatt.

Born in Toronto in 1879, Helen McNicoll became Deaf at the age of two due to scarlet fever. Her affluent family moved to Montreal when she was a young child, and she studied at the Art Association of Montreal before leaving permanently for Europe, continuing her training at the Slade School of Art in London and the Cornish School of Landscape, Figure, and Sea Painting at St. Ives. McNicoll’s travels throughout  the artist colonies of England and France were interspersed with return trips to Canada to visit family. She constructed her tour de force Impressionist paintings of women and children through vivid strokes of paint in vibrant colours. She was elected an associate member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1913 and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1914, signaling the recognition she earned both abroad and at home in her lifetime. Equally adept at depicting landscapes, genre scenes and figures, McNicoll’s paintings remain some of the greatest examples of Impressionism in Canada.

ARTWORKS FROM THE EXHIBITION

Helen Galloway McNicoll, The Open Door

Helen Galloway McNicoll, The Open Door, c. 1913. Oil on canvas, Overall: 76.2 × 63.5 cm. From the collection of Samuel & Esther Sarick. Photo: AGO

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Cassatt, Young Girl at the Window

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Young Girl at a Window, c.1883 – 1884. Oil on canvas, 100.3 × 64.7 cm. National Gallery of Art. Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, Gallery Fund). 2014.79.9. Courtesy National Gallery of Art.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Cassatt, Woman Bathing

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Woman Bathing, 1890–1891. Drypoint and aquatint in colour on laid paper, 43.4 × 30.3 cm; plate: 36.5 × 26.9 cm. National Gallery of Canada. Bequest of Guy M. Drummond, Montreal, 1987. 29878. Photo: NGC.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Beige toned bedroom facing a draped window with a mirror in the left corner and a fireplace on the left wall.

Helen Galloway McNicoll, Interior, c. 1913. Oil on canvas, Overall: 55.9 x 45.9 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchase, 1976. Photo © AGO. 75/100

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Stevenson Cassatt, On a Balcony

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, On a Balcony, 1878 – 1879. Oil on canvas, 89.9 × 65.2 cm. Art Institute of Chicago. Gift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge in memory of her aunt, Delia Spencer Field. 1938.18. Photo courtesy The Art Institute of Chicago

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Helen Galloway McNicoll, In the Tent

Helen Galloway McNicoll, In the Tent, 1913-1914. Oil on canvas, 80 × 59.5 cm. Private collection, Toronto. Photo: Thomas Moore, Toronto.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Helen Galloway McNicoll, Picking Flowers, c. 1912. Oil on canvas, 94 x 78.8 cm. Gift of R. Fraser Elliott, Toronto, in memory of Betty Ann Elliott, 1992. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 92/102.

Helen Galloway McNicoll, Picking Flowers, c. 1912. Oil on canvas, 94 x 78.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of R. Fraser Elliott, Toronto, in memory of Betty Ann Elliott, 1992. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 92/102.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Summertime

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Summertime, 1894. Oil on canvas, 100.6 x 81.3 cm. Terra Foundation of American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection. 1988.25. Photo © Terra Foundation of American Art, Chicago.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Helen Galloway McNicoll, In the Shadow of the Tree

Helen Galloway McNicoll, In the Shadow of the Tree, c. 1914. oil on canvas, 100 × 81.5 cm. Collection du Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Purchase. 1951.140. Photo: MNBAQ, Jean-Guy Kérouac.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Child Picking a Fruit

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Child Picking a Fruit, 1893. Oil on canvas, 100.33 × 65.41 cm. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Gift of Ivor and Anne Massey, 75.18. Photo: Travis Fullerton © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Helen Galloway McNicoll, The Victorian Dress

Helen Galloway McNicoll, The Victorian Dress, 1914. Oil on canvas, 107.1 × 91.7 cm. Art Gallery of Hamilton; Gift of Sidney Dawes, M.C., 1958. Photo: AGO.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks
Mary Stevenson Cassatt, The Cup of Tea

Mary Stevenson Cassatt, The Cup of Tea, c.1880-81. Oil on canvas, 92.4 × 65.4 cm. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, From the Collection of James Stillman, Gift of Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, 1922 (22.16.17). Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY.

Cassatt – McNicoll artworks

Cassatt – McNicoll - EXHIBITION CATALOGUE

Cassatt – McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds catalogue cover

Take the Exhibition Home

A selection of books, prints, textiles and gifts inspired by the world of two extraordinary Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt and Helen McNicoll.

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RESOURCES

EXHIBITION LARGE TEXT

Download large print in English (PDF 563 KB)     Download large print in French(PDF 657 KB)

 

Reflections on Helen McNicoll as a Deaf Artist

Artists Peter Owusu-Ansah and Rae RezWell discuss the art of Helen McNicoll who became deaf at age 2.

Close-Looking at Helen McNicoll’s Interior

In this video we have animated Helen McNicoll’s painting Interior (around 1913, oil on canvas, Art Gallery of Ontario.) The elements that show the movement of light and give evidence of the room’s recent occupation by someone are highlighted: a robe, tossed on the chair, which may tip over at any moment, and a row of footprints on the carpet. The brilliant shaft of sunlight that streaks across the carpet and up the dresser moves with the sun. Through the departed figure, unstable chair and shifting ray of sun, McNicoll has made the passage of time the subject of this painting.

 

The Sketchbooks of Helen McNicoll

DESCRIPTIVE AUDIO GUIDE

Audio description of artworks help remove barriers to our collections and exhibitions. Artworks will be highlighted through creative audio description, a type of spoken language describing visual images or objects, which enables audiences to engage and pursue their own journey in relation to visual art.

Audio descriptions can also be accessed in the gallery by using your device to scan the QR code on the corresponding artwork label.

Verbal description by Superior Description Services. Written by Rebecca Singh and James McKenzie. With consultation by Lauren Wu and Christine Malec. Voiced by Rebecca Singh.

Download the Descriptive Audio Guide Transcript (PDF 140 KB)

 

BlindSquare EVENT APP

blindsquare


BlindSquare is a free GPS app developed for the blind, deafblind, and partially sighted. The GPS technology will alert your device to each described audio stop, provide text-to-speech for in-gallery room panels and wayfinding directives in this exhibition. You can download the app from the Apple App Store or by using a QR code onsite. iOS compatible only.

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