First Step

I had a good doctors appointment on Friday. But, still felt the need for more rest. And, by Monday morning, I flew the coop. Now, I am ready to get back to work and get back to living life again. It is hard for me to press a pause button, and just rest. I am totally going with how I feel. And, now I am happy to start focusing on something other then myself. I decided to focus on Mary Cassatt, an independent artist who worked more then one hundred years ago. I learned so much about her over the weekend. But, yesterday's exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was a feast. The first time I saw her paintings was at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC in 1983. I had not studied Art, yet. I would buy 5 postcards of my favorite paintings. And, I remember thinking I wasn't surprised it was a woman Artist. By the end of the 80's I got my degree in Art, and realized how astounding that was. Also, revisiting the National Gallery in 1989, and really looking to see how many Artists were women.....only her. So, I wondered if I would see much change in my lifetime. And, yes it is amazing the amount of change in the last ten years. I feel since COVID, especially. There is the issue of not just gender, but race too. And, then (ugh) politics comes into the picture and you lose me. But, I loved this exhibit. Mary Cassatt did end up supporting women's sufferage. She also led a life in France, and not America. She not only was the only woman accepted in the Salons during Impressionism. But, she was the only American. She came from an affluent family from Pennsylvania involved in the train industry. But, her father told her she had to support herself in France. He was not funding her stay there. Wow! I just learned in 1894 she was able to buy a country home in France about an hour west of Paris. She also put in modern bathrooms, electricity and kitchen. She employed groundskeepers and had a live in housekeeper. She left a good sum of money and her paintings to the housekeeper. The paintings were sold at auction the next year. Again, a lot of Artists had a hard time finding their worth during their lifetime. Most paintings become more valuable after you die. And, impressionism was not accepted in the Art World at first. When I studied Art I was surprised most of the famous masterpieces were located in Europe. But, I am now learning the United States has a vast collection. Thanks to art collectors like the Annenburgs, Barnes and the Cone Sisters. Another irony is Wal-Mart owners started Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art In 2011, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Arkansas (also the headquarters of Walmart). My daughter visited there a few years ago. She brought me a post card of a Mary Cassatt painting. And, that painting was part of the exhibition. Quote of the day: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King Jr. Song of the day: The Good Life Jon Batiste