Lydia at a Tapestry Frame (c1881) is one of the highlights of the Flint Institute of Arts collection. It depicts her older sister Lydia (1837-82), who moved to Paris to be Mary's companion, housekeeper and frequent model, totally absorbed in her needlework. As this article argues,"Cassatt...resisted the more usual decorativeness or sexual lusciousness involved in female subjects, the sense in which they are posing for the (primarily male) beholder’s sake...[and] creates the impression that the woman in the painting isn’t aware of us, looking at her; the point of the painting has nothing to do with the usual presentation of a woman to the viewer’s eye."

In Reading Le Figaro (1878, private collection), Mary Cassatt paints her own mother but gives no indication of the sitter's maternal role. Instead, she emphasises her engagement in an intellectual pursuit which sets her apart from conventional representations of women. This resonates with contemporary discussions of women's rights and the emerging ideas of the 'New Woman'.  

In the Loge (1878, MFA Boston) depicts a woman scanning the theatre audience with her opera glasses. As the FT review of the exhibition explains,"Rather than preen distractedly, as social mores would dictate, she scrutinises society, shielded by temporary anonymity...[and] presents herself not as object but as objectifier." In the background, though, you can just make out a man on a facing balcony, with his own opera glasses fixed on her. In many ways, the painting encapsulates Mary Cassatt's own professional independence and her insistence on overcoming gender stereotypes and expectations.  

An important exhibition of work by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) has opened at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and runs until 8th September. She was born in Pennsylvania but went to Paris and was invited by Edgar Degas to join the group of artists who came to be known as the Impressionists. She is widely known for her mother and child themes as in 'Mother and Child' (1880, private collection), but this 'polemical' show presents her as a far more complex and radical artist.

What a night, what a result. We are delighted that Rachel Reeves, who wrote the preface to National Provincial, is set to make history by becoming the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

The great Simone Veil (1927-2017) voting in Paris in the European elections, 10th June 1979. Forty-five years later, so much of what she believed in, and dedicated her life to, is at stake. All elections matter, this year's more so than ever.

We are all, perhaps, a little weary of political stunts in the run-up to the election, but sometimes they do make an impact. On 23rd January, 1909, two suffragettes were delivered via the Post Office's Express Messenger service to the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith, at 10 Downing Street. However, the stunt failed when the official refused to sign for them, but the story made the front page of the Daily Mirror. Read all about it on the Postal Museum website.