Artwork
Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly
Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Painted in 1880, the work is a portrait of Mary Cassatt's elder sister Lydia, who had relocated from Philadelphia to live with the artist at Marly-le-Roi.
Painted in 1880, the work is a portrait of Mary Cassatt's elder sister Lydia, who had relocated from Philadelphia to live with the artist at Marly-le-Roi. Lydia is shown seated in a garden, absorbed in crocheting beneath a lace bonnet, her pale complexion set off by a tartan garment with lace cuffs. Behind her, a greenhouse and orderly rows of plants frame the scene, yet the composition deliberately separates the figure from the surrounding blossoms, presenting her as occupied and seemingly unaware of the garden at her back.
The painting continues the post–Civil War American tradition of women depicted in elegant gardens while rendering the subject in an Impressionist style that captures vivid sunlight. Cassatt's shift toward domestic imagery during this period was tied to Lydia's declining health from Bright's disease, and her sister became a frequent subject until her death in 1882.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1880, Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly is an oil painting on canvas measuring 65.6 by 92.6 cm. The work adopts an Impressionist handling, with loose, luminous brushwork capturing sunlight and shadow in the garden setting. Compositionally, Lydia is positioned centrally, isolated from the surrounding flora by the structured rows of plants and a greenhouse backdrop, emphasizing her domestic occupation rather than the landscape. Her attire, a tartan garment with lace cuffs, and lace bonnet are rendered with delicate, descriptive touches that contrast with the more broadly handled foliage.
The handling balances descriptive detail with atmospheric light, aligning the painting with Cassatt’s Impressionist practice of the period.
History & Provenance
Mary Cassatt painted Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly in 1880 while living with her sister Lydia at Marly-le-Roi during a family visit. Lydia, Cassatt’s elder sister who had moved from Philadelphia to Paris, suffered from Bright’s disease and could no longer travel, prompting the extended family to join her that summer. The work was first exhibited in 1881 at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris alongside eleven other Cassatt paintings.
By 1893 it appeared in Paul Durand-Ruel’s inventory, and by 1894 it had been acquired by Philadelphia collector Peter Arrell Browne Widener. Cassatt’s brother Alexander Cassatt later reacquired the painting, retaining it within the family until it was donated by Mrs. Gardner Cassatt to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1965.
Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting entered the museum in 1965 as a gift from Mrs. Gardner Cassatt, remaining in the Cassatt family before that donation. Its first public appearance was at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1881, where it was shown alongside eleven other works by Mary Cassatt. No further exhibition records are provided in the sources.
Legacy
Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly is regarded as one of Mary Cassatt's finest pictures from the period when she repeatedly depicted her elder sister. Alongside Lydia Seated in the Garden with a Dog in Her Lap and Katherine Cassatt Reading to Her Grandchildren, the painting is counted among the strongest works from this phase of her career. Its exhibition history contributed to its standing: it debuted at the Sixth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in 1881, shown with eleven other works by Cassatt, and later passed through the dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and the Philadelphia collector Peter Arrell Browne Widener before Alexander Cassatt reacquired it.
It entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1965 through a donation by Mrs. Gardner Cassatt, where it remains part of the museum's holdings as a portrait of Lydia Cassatt.
Overview
Mary Cassatt's painting, Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly, dates from 1880. This oil-on-canvas work depicts a domestic scene and is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. It exemplifies Cassatt's focus on intimate portrayals of women in their daily lives, captured with a sense of immediacy and personal observation, characteristic of her approach to art.
Context
Mary Cassatt frequently turned to the lives of women as her primary subject matter, often portraying them in moments of quiet contemplation or engagement with daily tasks. Lydia Crocheting in the Garden at Marly fits within this broader artistic practice, reflecting her interest in capturing the unposed realities of female experience, a common theme among Impressionist artists with whom she exhibited.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844 – June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker.
