Child In A Straw Hat

Mary Cassatt

Item Number: 29895

$

Mary Cassatt’s Child in a Straw Hat (circa 1886) captures the timeless charm and curiosity of childhood with remarkable grace. The painting features a young child wearing a wide-brimmed straw ha...

Full Description
Choose your size
Size Guide
  • ✈️ Free Worldwide Shipping & Production Times
    Open

    Total Estimated Delivery: 24–46 Business Days

    Since this is a 100% hand-painted artwork made to order, delivery takes a bit longer than mass-produced prints. Here is the exact breakdown:

    • Processing (14–21 Business Days): Our artists craft and hand-paint your piece. High-quality oil paintings require time for layers to dry properly to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.
    • Shipping Transit: Once your painting passes quality control, it is handed over to our reliable shipping partners.
      • USA, Canada & Europe: 10–20 business days
      • Australia & Rest of World: 15–25 business days

    Customs Note: International orders may be subject to import duties/taxes, which are the buyer's responsibility.

  • 🛡️ 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee & Returns
    Open

    We want your purchase experience to be as easy as possible! You have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.

    • Standard Artworks: Eligible for return within 30 days (must be new, unused, and in original packaging). For "change of mind" returns, the buyer covers return shipping costs. We do not charge any restocking fees.
    • Damaged or Defective Items: If your art arrives damaged, contact us immediately. We will offer a free replacement or a full refund and cover any return shipping costs.
    • Custom & Personalized Orders: Due to their unique nature, portraits and custom-modified artworks are final sale and cannot be returned unless they arrive damaged.
    • Cancellations: You may cancel your order for free within 24 hours of purchase.

    To start a return, simply contact us at info@tryartwork.com.

  • 🎨 100% Hand-Painted Oil Art
    Open

    This is NOT a print. You are purchasing a genuine, hand-painted oil reproduction created by a skilled artist.

    We use museum-quality canvas and rich oil paints to capture the texture, depth, and soul of the original masterpiece. Every brushstroke is applied by hand, making your artwork truly unique.

Our benefits
  • 100% Hand-Painted Oil
    100% Hand-Painted Oil
  • Free Worldwide Shipping
    Free Worldwide Shipping
  • Museum-Quality Standards
    Museum-Quality Standards

Features “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt
Overview
Author
Color
Beige, Blue, White, Yellow, Brown
Tags
Portrait, Innocence, Emotion, Traditional Art
Painting Details
Alternate Titles
Portrait Of A Child In A Hat
Art Movement
Impressionism
Historical Events
Childhood Representation In Art
Visual and Stylistic Elements
Brushwork/Texture
Light And Playful
Focal Point
The Child’s Face
Light Source
Sunlight Filtering Through
Objects
Child , Hats , Dresses
Orientation
Vertical
Perspective
Soft Impressionistic Perspective
Original Masterpiece Features
Creation Process
Oil On Canvas
Inscriptions/Signatures
Signed By Cassatt
Provenance
Private Collection
Influences and Related Works
Influences
Impressionism, Childhood Portraits
Related Works
Little Girl In A Blue Armchair
Exhibition and Market Information
Criticism & Reception
Recognized For Its Soft Impressionistic Style
Cultural Significance
Celebrates Childhood Innocence
Exhibition History
Private Exhibitions
Public Domain Status
Public Domain
Did you see an error in the description or specifications? Let us know about it!
Report an error
Description “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt’s Child in a Straw Hat (circa 1886) captures the timeless charm and curiosity of childhood with remarkable grace. The painting features a young child wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, framed against a neutral background that emphasizes the subject’s tender features and thoughtful expression. Cassatt, renowned for her portrayals of children and maternal relationships, uses this work to celebrate the individuality and innocence of her young subject.

The composition is intimate yet powerful. The straw hat, with its broad brim and delicate texture, draws immediate attention, framing the child’s face like a halo. The soft blush tones of the skin and the warm hues of the hat contrast gently with the muted background, creating a harmonious palette that highlights the subject’s simplicity and purity. The child’s gaze, contemplative yet lively, invites viewers into a shared moment of quiet observation, underscoring Cassatt’s talent for capturing unspoken emotion.

What makes this painting exceptional is Cassatt’s ability to convey both realism and warmth. The delicate textures of the hat, the softness of the child’s hair, and the subtle play of light on the face reveal her technical precision, while the painting’s intimate scale and focused subject matter reflect her deep empathy for children. By isolating the child from any distracting elements, Cassatt emphasizes the individuality and emotional depth of her subject, elevating a simple portrait to a timeless celebration of childhood.

This work also reflects Cassatt’s broader artistic philosophy, which was deeply influenced by Impressionism and her own belief in the importance of everyday moments. In addition to being a picture, Child with a Straw Hat expresses the beauty and importance of appreciating the fleeting, little things in life.

Collectors looking for reproduction oil paintings often return to this canvas.


Collector's Guide PDF “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt

Reviews “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt

Q/A “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt
Experts answer questions

Frequently Asked Questions
  • What does Mary Cassatt depict in Child in a Straw Hat?
    Open Answer

    Cassatt depicts a young child wearing a large straw hat — the informal summer headgear of bourgeois children at leisure in the late nineteenth century — in a portrait study of great directness and psychological intimacy. The painting belongs to Cassatt's extended series of children's portraits that combine Impressionist freshness with careful psychological observation of childhood's specific quality of absorbed, unself-conscious presence.

  • What visual qualities define Cassatt's approach to children's portraiture?
    Open Answer

    Cassatt renders the child with the same direct observation and warm handling that characterize her best work — the straw hat creating a dappled, sun-warmed light on the child's face and the surrounding figure, the Impressionist technique of broken color capturing the specific quality of outdoor summer light. Her children are never idealized or sentimentalized but observed with the acute attention of a painter who finds the specific character of childhood — its directness, its absorbed self-sufficiency — artistically fascinating in its own right.

  • What is the cultural context of Cassatt's children's portraits?
    Open Answer

    Cassatt's portraits of children belong to the broader Impressionist interest in modern life as a subject — the children of the bourgeoisie in their everyday leisure, summer holidays, and family rituals providing material for paintings that combined social observation with formal experimentation. Her particular sensitivity to the quality of childhood experience — its combination of physical immediacy and psychological interiority — gives her children's portraits a quality of specific, living observation that distinguishes them from the more conventional children's portraits of the academic tradition.

  • What atmosphere does a print of Child in a Straw Hat create in a home?
    Open Answer

    The painting's warm, summery light, its quality of childhood directness and freshness, and Cassatt's characteristic Impressionist warmth create a joyful and personally resonant presence in any interior. It suits a living room, bedroom, or nursery where its combination of summer warmth and childhood charm can be appreciated. For families, parents, and admirers of Cassatt's work, it is a beautiful and immediately appealing choice.


Additional Information “Child In A Straw Hat” by Mary Cassatt

“Cassatt painted children as they actually are, not as adults wish them to be.” Griselda Pollock

“She brought the Impressionist vision to the world of childhood.” Nancy Mowll Mathews

“Cassatt's children are individuals, not types.” Judith Barter

“There is someone who feels as I do.” Edgar Degas, upon seeing Cassatt's work

“She painted childhood with understanding and respect.” Louisine Havemeyer

#1. Child Portraiture. Cassatt was known for her sensitive portrayals of children, avoiding sentimentality.

#2. Impressionist Technique. The loose brushwork and natural light show Cassatt's Impressionist approach.

#3. American in Paris. Cassatt was the only American artist to exhibit with the French Impressionists.

#4. Women's World. Cassatt focused on subjects from the domestic world traditionally accessible to women.

#5. Natural Poses. Unlike formal child portraits, Cassatt captured natural, unposed moments.

A vertical portrait like this fits a reading corner, library, or a gallery wall. It works equally well above a console, a low sideboard, or a reading chair. Pair it with pale plaster walls and deep green walls for a traditional room. A portrait of this kind carries the room without competing visual elements crowding it. Avoid harsh white LEDs; soft incandescent or warm daylight reads best.

Hand-painting it well means getting the light and playful brushwork right before the texture of fabric folds. Skin and fabric are handled in different rhythms; one stays smooth, the other carries visible weave. For portraits, getting the eyes and mouth right is more important than any other detail. Painted by hand in oil, the reproduction keeps the visible brushwork the original is built on.

The arrangement reads as deliberate and balanced, organized around The Child's Face. Among the elements on the surface are child, hats, and dresses, each given its share of attention. Sunlight catches the surface, picking out highlight against shadow. Color is led by beige, blue, white, and yellow, giving the surface its temperature. Paint is built up in measured layers, the surface holding both finish and quiet variation. The painting holds its composition steady whether seen from across a room or examined closely.


More From Mary Cassatt