Five O'Clock Tea by Mary Cassatt

In paintings such as the 1880 work Five O'Clock Tea by Mary Cassatt, keen observation of accidental gestures gave the scenes freshness and immediacy. In Five O'Clock Tea, two women gaze out to the right of the composition, as if they were looking at someone just beyond the limits of the canvas. Mary Cassatt captures the guest -- still wearing her hat and gloves -- taking a sip of tea, which blocks a full view of her face.

Five O'Clock Tea by Mary Cassatt (oil on canvas, 25-1/2x36-1/2 inches) hangs in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

As Cassatt's career progressed, her works attained an intimacy and poignancy unrivaled by her contemporaries. On the next page we'll see a good example of this.

For more on Impressionist paintings, artists, and art history, see:

• Impressionism
• Vincent van Gogh
• Claude Monet