If Women Impressionists has a fault, it’s the tendency of the contributing art historians to attribute some of the drier qualities of their own profession to their subjects. Morisot, Cassatt, Gonzalès and Bracquemond would probably be surprised to learn that they were carrying out artistic “projects” in their “chosen field of artistic research.” Pollock contributes a groaner or two: “Cassatt was not a mother herself, but a daughter.” She redeems herself, though, with a witty riff on the “All art aspires to the condition of music” pronouncement of Walter Pater. “In the hands of Cassatt and Degas,” she writes, “painting aspired to the condition of pastel.”

Given the prevailing condition of women in the age of Impressionism, there’s a telling postscript to Morisot’s story. During preparations for her posthumous retrospective, Monet, Degas and Renoir are reported to have argued vociferously over who should play what part in the show. Even after her death, Morisot’s male contemporaries were clamoring to take all the credit. Men!

"Painting Ladies" originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2008 Table of Contents.