Recognized as one of the foremost 19th-century American painters and printmakers, Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) is known for her perceptive depictions of women and children and technical innovations in color printmaking. Born to a prominent Pittsburgh family, she traveled extensively through Europe with her parents and siblings while a child. Between 1860 and 1864 she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and in 1865, at the age of twenty-two, Cassatt went abroad to study old master paintings in European museums. In Paris, she studied with prominent academic painters and independently at the Louvre. Returning to the United States for a short period, Cassatt went back to Europe in 1871, spending her time painting and copying the old masters in museums located in Italy, Spain, and Belgium. In 1874 Cassatt settled permanently in Paris. Although she had several works accepted for exhibition by the tradition-bound French Salon, her artistic aims aligned her with the avant-garde painters of the time. In 1877, Edgar Degas invited her to join the progressive group of artists popularly known as the Impressionists and she became the only American artist and second woman officially accepted into their ranks. Exhibiting with the Impressionists from 1879-86, her insightful scenes of upper middle-class domestic life quickly gained recognition in France and the United States where she was included in the first major exhibition of Impressionist art at the National Academy of Design in New York (1886).

In 1878, Cassatt began to experiment with printmaking, notably aquatint and drypoint, and developed an aesthetic that reflected Impressionism’s painterly exploration of color and light in her prints, paintings, and pastels. As exemplified by her first portfolio of aquatints, to which The Fitting (1890-91) belongs, she incorporated the themes and bold designs of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints after viewing the influential 1890 exhibition of Japanese artworks at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

Cassatt also utilized her knowledge of European old masters and discerning eye for contemporary Impressionist works to advise wealthy Americans, notably H.O. and Louisine Havemeyer, in assembling fine art collections. In advising wealthy American patrons on what to acquire, she played a crucial role in the formation of the most important collections of Impressionist painting and shaping public taste for its acceptance.

After two highly productive decades, by the early 1900's Cassatt's failing eyesight and bouts of poor health prevented her from continuing to pursue painting and printmaking. Indicative of her tenacity, Cassatt worked in pastels, as her health allowed. She continued to regularly exhibit in Europe and the United States and to sell her work through notable dealers including Paul Durand-Ruel (1831-1922) and Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939) long after she ceased making her own work.

In recognition of her contributions, Cassatt was named a chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by the French Government in 1904. Today, she is highly regarded as a leading Impressionist artist at a time when many middle- and upper-class women did not work outside of the home. Cassatt has been the subject of extensive scholarship and numerous major exhibitions, and much attention has been paid to her printmaking practice. Exemplary of this focus, impressions of The Fitting can be found in 18 public collections internationally and have been included in at least eight major exhibitions since 1985.