Little Girl in a Blue Armchair

Mary Cassatt

Oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art

Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (French: Petite fille dans un fauteuil bleu) is an 1878 oil on canvas by American Impressionist Mary Cassatt, depicting a young girl sprawled with unselfconscious ease across a large blue upholstered armchair, her small Brussels Griffon dog dozing in an adjacent matching chair. Cassatt, who lived much of her adult life in France and was closely associated with Edgar Degas, painted children as individuals with genuine moods and personalities rather than as idealized miniature adults. The composition reflects strong Impressionist influence—particularly in its asymmetrical arrangement, tilted picture plane, vibrant brushwork, and use of pattern—qualities informed by Cassatt's exposure to Japanese prints through Degas, who also contributed to portions of the painting. Submitted to the American Pavilion at the 1878 Paris World's Fair but rejected, the work was later exhibited with the Impressionists in 1879 and has since been recognized as one of the most radical depictions of childhood of its era.