Visitors to the Mint Museum Randolph will soon be able to view an early masterpiece by American painter Mary Cassatt. The painting, “Madame X Dressed for the Matinée,” 1878, comes from the collection of Charlotte and Philip Hanes of Winston-Salem, N.C., who have placed it on long-term loan at the Mint.
“We are delighted to share this masterpiece with both The Mint Museum and our fellow North Carolinians,” said Philip Hanes. “According to one Cassatt scholar, ‘Madame X’ was among the artist’s favorite works and was likely painted while Cassatt was working closely with her mentor, Edgar Degas.”
Mary Cassatt (1844‱926) lived much of her adult life in France, where she became the only American artist (and one of only five women) to exhibit alongside the French Impressionists. She was known for her sensitive depictions of mothers and their children. Many of her works examined the social and private lives of women.
“‘Madame X’ is an outstanding example of Cassatt’s ambitious and celebrated treatment of women’s daily lives,” said the museum’s executive director Kathleen V. Jameson. “Displaying a classic such as this helps people understand the multifaceted nature of American art, one of the Mint’s major focus areas. It is tremendously gratifying to make this great painting available for the public to enjoy.”
Painted in the year that Cassatt became actively involved with the Impressionists, “Madame X Dressed for the Matinée” depicts a young woman elegantly attired for a social outing. The painting was among the first by Cassatt to reference the Parisian theater. The painting has been exhibited nationally and internationally at major venues, including the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 2008; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2008; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1999; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999; Art Institute of Chicago, 1998; and Isetan Art Gallery, Tokyo, 1981.
In honor of this important loan, the museum has organized a small spotlight exhibition on Cassatt. “Mary Cassatt’s Madame X: A Masterpiece from the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Collection” will be on view November 20⁁pril 3 in the Jones Gallery at the Mint Museum Randolph, at 2730 Randolph Road.
The exhibition will give visitors an intimate look at “Madame X,” examine the painting’s place in Cassatt’s oeuvre, discuss the sitter’s identity, and present period fashions and decorative objects from the artist’s era. After the exhibition closes, the painting will be integrated into the American art galleries at the new Mint Museum Uptown.
For general information, www.mintmuseum.org or 704-337-2000.
