In “Breakfast in Bed,” Mary Cassatt delved into the profound and often challenging relationship between mother and child. Painted with Cassatt’s Impressionistic broken brushstrokes and vivid colors, mothers and children were the subjects of many of her works. This piece conveys a powerfully emotional moment in which a mother embraces her child, while the child’s attention wanders elsewhere. Cassatt (1844 – 1926) subtly illustrated the tensions between parents and children by contrasting the mother’s prone position, protective hold and gaze with her child’s curiosity about the surrounding world.

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