The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Print in black ink of Mimi, a woman with light skin tone and dark hair. Her left arm is draped at a ninety degree angle over the back of her chair. She looks slightly down and out to our right. Her face and hair have the most detail while the rest of the print is sparse, with only a few sketchy lines.

Mimi as a Brunette

1889

Mary Cassatt

(American, 1844–1926)
America
drypoint
Bequest of Charles T. Brooks 1941.82
Catalogue raisonné: Breeskin 116
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The sitter for this print, Mary (Mimi) Johnston, was able to spend extended periods of time in Paris while her husband, Princeton professor William Milligan Sloane, researched and wrote an exhaustive study of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Description

In 1888, Mary Cassatt began to experiment with drypoint, a printmaking technique in which an artist draws directly into a copper plate with a needle. This print belongs to a series that she created at this time, each characterized by a sketchiness akin to drawing. It depicts Mary (Mimi) Johnston, Cassatt's second cousin who traveled frequently to Europe and spent long periods of time in Paris. The artist focused most closely on her sitter's face and unfocused gaze, which suggests a sense of introspection.
  • ?-1941
    Charles T. Brooks, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1941-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013).
    Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 7, 1993-January 2, 1994).
    The Impressionist Aesthetic. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 10-October 31, 1982).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
  • {{cite web|title=Mimi as a Brunette|url=false|author=Mary Cassatt|year=1889|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1941.82