Mary Cassatt was an American artist best remembered for her paintings depicting the intimate bond between mothers and children. She was one of the leading artists of the Impressionist movement and along with Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot, she is counted amongst the greatest female artists of her time, As an artist she was very interested in studying the private and social lives of women which is evident from her paintings. Born into an upper middle-class family she was raised in a culturally stimulating environment and received a good education. She was very close to her mother, who was a well-educated and refined lady and whose influence on Mary Cassatt was immense. Cassatt was also a wide traveler and it was during a trip to France that she was exposed to the works of artists like Ingres, Delacroix, Corot, and Courbet which motivated her to pursue art as a career. She began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and later on moved to Paris to continue her education. Though she initially struggled to establish herself as an artist, she eventually found success with her paintings in which she depicted women and children from her own point of view. She never married and dedicated her entire life to art which was her true passion