Mary Cassatt

Cassatt printed states, or variations on the same plate, primarily as a means of technical experimentation. Rather than developing the composition or working toward a resolved appearance, as most artists did with states, this image of a nude model—an unusual subject for a female artist at this time—was gradually abstracted in later states. Edgar Degas, an artist keenly interested in process, was the original owner of these two impressions, and described such works by Cassatt as “delightful graphic experiments.” Cassatt herself later remarked to her biographer, “[Etching] is what teaches you to draw.”