Dorrance Galleries
Main Building
A celebrated member of the French Impressionists, Pennsylvania-born Mary Cassatt challenged the conventional expectations of Philadelphia’s elite. In Paris, Cassatt committed herself to a career as a professional artist and made the social, intellectual, and working lives of modern women a core subject of her prints, paintings, and pastels. Though recognized in her lifetime for her intimate depictions of women and children, Cassatt has yet to be appreciated for her serious engagement with the realities of gender and labor in her portrayal of other traditionally feminine activities, such as embroidery, reading, or making social appearances.
These depictions lie at the heart of Mary Cassatt at Work, which will present over 130 diverse works that follow the artist’s evolving practice and demonstrate her interest in the “serious work” of artmaking. The exhibition will present new findings about the materials she used and her processes—which were advanced for her era—as it coincides with a detailed technical study of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s significant Cassatt holdings.
Mary Cassatt at Work is the first major showing of the artist’s oeuvre since 1998–99. By considering her professionalism, her biography, and the wider Parisian world she inhabited, a richer and more complex picture of Cassatt develops, inviting contemporary conversations about gender, work, and artistic agency.
Tickets & Promotions
Mary Cassatt at Work is a separately ticketed exhibition. Tickets are for timed entry every thirty minutes from 11:00 a.m. until an hour and a half before close each day. Your timed ticket is for entry to the exhibition queue; entry wait times may be extended during higher volume moments, which include hours late in the day and weekends.
Standard Tickets: $35
Standard exhibition tickets include general admission to the museum. Enjoy access to the Rodin Museum and Garden with your exhibition ticket Friday – Monday, just a short walk down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Members: Free
Members receive unlimited access to Mary Cassatt at Work with their membership card, no tickets required. Member guest tickets must be booked in advance.
Member exclusive hour
Gather with other Cassatt enthusiasts to explore the exhibition every Friday morning from 10am-11am. Enjoy exclusive access, and then join us in our Members Lounge for a coffee on us.
Group Visits
Plan a tour of the exhibition, from intimate private guided experiences to large scale group-guided options.
Tours are subject to availability; each tour type is only available at certain times of the day to accommodate capacity and to deliver the best visitor experience. Tours must be booked 4 days in advance.
