An unmarried woman

On June 11 and 12, The Harvey School Black Box Theatre in Katonah will present “Girl in Blue Armchair,” Susan Courtney’s study of Mary Cassatt, the only American painter invited to exhibit with the French Impressionists.

Cassatt was both part of and apart from her time. Determined to carve a career for herself as an artist and a single woman in an age when upper-class women were wives and mothers, Cassatt was also a dutiful daughter who ran the family home in Paris after her beloved older sister, Lydia, died. (The family moved there from Pennsylvania after Mary decided to make her art in the City of Light.)

She was a fairly conventional painter until 1877 when the painter Edgar Degas invited her to join a new group that called itself Les Independents, the “Impressionists” being a sobriquet that stuck from a critical journalist. With that invitation, her life and her art changed forever.

Cassatt and Degas’ relationship remains the subject of fascinated speculation. Whatever did or did not pass between them – there is no historical evidence that they ever had an affair – they shared a deep bond borne of their total, uncompromising commitment to their art; their proud, stubborn, hypercritical natures; and their Franco-American heritage. (She was an American of French-Huguenot descent; he, the French child of an American mother who had spent some time with her relations in New Orleans.)

Small wonder, then, that Cassatt continues to intrigue writers (including yours truly, the author of “The Essential Mary Cassatt,” published in 1999 by Wonderland Press and distributed by Harry N. Abrams Inc.)

Now we have a play by Susan Courtney, an adjunct professor of theater at Westchester Community College and a Valhalla resident. The title, “Girl in Blue Armchair” is taken from one of those works in which Cassatt, never a mother herself, captures children unsentimentally, in all their sweet, sulky, riveting self-possession. Our own Martha Handler – who writes the “Sass & Class” column for our WAG magazine – caught up with Courtney recently. Here is her interview:

What was it about the painting that inspired the play? Or, was it the
the painter herself?

 “For two years, I taught art at Adam Clayton Powell Junior High School in Harlem. One day while I was looking through a large art book there, I came across a painting of a woman bent over a wash basin where the outline of her back was so beautifully done. It captured an intimate moment in the life of this woman. It was called "La Toilette". I was curious as to who painted this, because for some reason I felt it was painted by a woman. And it was. It was the first painting of Mary Cassatt's that I ever saw (or perhaps I saw her work before but didn't know it was hers). At this point, I decided to look into the life of this woman. I was in awe of that fact that here was this woman from Pennsylvania living in repressive Victorian times, who managed to create a successful career for herself as an artist. In looking at her other work, I found "Little Girl in a Blue Armchair". This painting seemed so liberated to me. The little girl is not in a conventional pose, and it reflects Mary's unconventional side. I found it interesting that Edgar Degas helped her with it and advised her to paint the furniture up on an angle. The blue color in the painting is so striking, and it captures a moment in the life of this little girl.”

What if anything does the play reflect about you?

“I feel that women have a struggle to be artists in our society, and the struggle still exists, many years after Mary Cassatt. But it is easier now. Women have to make choices and the biggest one, of course, is motherhood. We want it both ways: We want to be successful in our careers, and we want to have children and devote time to them. Mary chose not to have children. She said, ‘To be an artist, one must make primary sacrifices.’ I felt this was sad, but it was what she felt she had to do and she accomplished her goal to be a famous painter. I feel my struggle to be an actress while working as a teacher and mother is difficult. But I would never want to have to give up being a mother. Maybe each woman has to find her own time. Now things are easier as my daughter is older (16), and I have more freedom.

How would describe the kind of drama this is?

“This is a two-act play – an historical fiction – that is biographical in nature. It is based on research I have done on Mary Cassatt's life as well as personal interviews I have done with the Cassatt family. One of the current members of the Cassatt family said to me, ‘People still ask me today: Did Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas have an affair? I say, I don't know!’ Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas burned their letters of correspondence which leads us to ask, ‘Why?’"

What do you hope the audience will get from seeing the play?

“I have always loved the art work of the Impressionists. Today, if there is an exhibition of work by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissaro, Morisot, or Cassatt, people flock to it and sometimes wait in line to see it. It is said to be one of the most beloved periods in art. I would like people to come away with an experience of what it was like to be an artist at that time and to maybe identify with their struggles. The Impressionists were rebels of their time – kind of like Andy Warhol for our time or the hippies in the ’60s. I would like people to get to know the struggle and the people involved and feel a connection.”

Performances are at 7 p.m. June 11 and 3 p.m. June 12. Tickets are $12; $10 for senior citizens. The Harvey School Black Box Theatre is at 260 Jay St. (off Route 22). harveyschool.org