2-746-763 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Under the Horse Chestnut Tree, 1896-1897. Under the Horse Chestnut Tree was among the last colour prints Cassatt made. In 1894, she purchased a château called Mesnil-Beaufresne in the village of Mesnil-Théribus and moved her press there from Paris. Her friend, the wealthy American collector Louisine Havemeyer recalled her working "in her grey blouse in the small pavilion over the dam where she had installed her printing press. There she would work while daylight lasted with the aid of a printer; she did her own colouring and wiping of the plates. It was at the cost of much physical strain for she actually did the manual work." After the 1890s, Cassatt increasingly turned her attention toward pastel.