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About this Event

A woman in a flowered dress holds a child. There is a blue vase and wash basin behind her.

Mary Cassatt, "Mother and Child", about 1890. Oil on canvas, 35 1/2 x 25 3/8 inches. Wichita Art Museum, Roland P. Murdock Collection

Learn more about artist Mary Cassatt in a lecture with art historian Dr. Hollis Clayson.

Join Dr. S. Hollis Clayson, Professor Emerita of Art History and Bergen Evans Professor Emerita in the Humanities at Northwestern University, for this talk about impressionist artist Mary Cassatt. Two of Cassatt’s artworks are currently on view – Mother and Child from WAM’s collection, and Baby on Mother’s Arm in the featured exhibition Making American Artists: Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1776-1976.

Dr. Clayson is a historian of modern art who specializes in 19th-century Europe, especially France, and the transatlantic exchanges between France and the U.S.


About WAM Nights: We’re open late on Fridays until 9 pm! Get your weekend started with after-hours access to the galleries and shopping in the Museum Store. WAM Nights will include programs with artists, musicians, and performers–don’t miss your chance to see the art at WAM in a new way! The museum comes to life with local creatives during WAM Nights!


About the Speaker

S. Hollis Clayson
Professor Emerita of Art History; Bergen Evans Professor Emerita in the Humanities
Ph.D., 1984, UCLA

Hollis Clayson, a prominent historian of modern art, focuses on 19th-century Europe with a keen eye on France and transatlantic exchanges with the U.S. Notable works include “Painted Love: Prostitution in French Art of the Impressionist Era” (1991), “Understanding Paintings: Themes in Art Explored and Explained” (2000), and “Paris in Despair: Art and Everyday Life Under Siege (1870-71)” (2002). She curated the exhibition “ELECTRIC PARIS” in 2013 and authored “Illuminated Paris: Essays on Art and Lighting in the Belle Époque” in 2019. Clayson’s research, backed by prestigious institutions, has earned her teaching accolades and honorary titles across esteemed universities and organizations worldwide. Her focus spans the social history of 19th-century art, lighting technologies, and visual representation.