Carter Bags Elusive Cassatt for its 50th Birthday Present

The Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth has gifted itself with Mary Cassatt’s Standing Woman, Holding a Fan (1878-79), a transitional work in distemper (chalk-and-glue paint used for architectural decoration) by the only American woman who counts as a French Impressionist. The acquisition honors the museum’s 50th anniversary and Ruth Carter Stevenson, daughter of Amon G. Carter and president of the board of trustees since the museum was established in 1961.  “A great Cassatt painting has eluded us until now,” says museum director Andrew Walker, who, in directorspeak, called the work “unique in scale and breathtaking in its execution.”