BERTHE MORISOT

Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895), The Bath, 1885–86. Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 28 7/8 in. Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, 1955.926

Berthe Morisot, a prominent figure in Parisian artistic and social circles, was one of few women artists to show her work in the Impressionist Exhibitions. She was especially prolific as an artist, continuing her career after her 1874 marriage to Eugene Manet, brother of the artist Édouard Manet. She is best known for her paintings of women and children in bourgeois domestic settings.

A fully illustrated catalogue, Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900, has been published by the American Federation of Arts and Yale University Press. Along with an art-historical overview by curator Laurence Madeline, the catalogue includes essays by Jane R. Becker, collections management associate, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Richard Kendall, former curator at large, Clark Art Institute; Bridget Alsdorf, associate professor, History of Art, Princeton University; and Vibeke Hansen, curator, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo.