She struggles to support herself with her meager earnings from painting and suffers the shame of rejection from the Paris Salon. Then one day, a friend introduces Mary to Edgar Degas, and her art—and life—are changed forever.
In I Always Loved You, a novel by Robin Oliveira, an aging Cassatt searches through the clutter of her art studio for a bundle of lost letters. The sight of them takes her back to her fateful introduction to Edgar Degas and to the love and heartbreak that followed. The novel recreates the tumultuous and passionate relationship between these two celebrated artists of the Impressionist movement, while also vividly recreating the world of Belle Époque Paris and the age of Impressionism. Other prominent artists of the period, including Édouard Manet, also appear in Oliveira’s account.
Join author Robin Oliveira as she reads from, discusses, and signs I Always Loved You, now out in paperback. The reading is free, but reservations are recommended. Make reservations online or call (310) 440–7300.
I Always Loved You
Thursday, April 2, 2015, 3pm
Museum Lecture Hall, Getty Center
Free; reservations recommended