“The Letter” 1890-91 National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA.

In the spring of 1891, the Durand-Ruel Gallery organized the first solo exhibition of the artist’s works.

During this period, Cassatt again turned to graphics, and quite successfully. A series of ten etchings became the center of attention of the exhibition.

Among the notable works is “The Letter”, a work marked by the purity of line, originality of color solutions, as well as a talented approach that allowed a lot to be realized with minimal means.

At this time, Europeans admired Utamaro and Hiroshige, and discovered the art of the hitherto unknown Far East.

Cassatt’s graphics, marked by the influence of Eastern creativity, perfectly captured the spirit of Japanese art, and Pissarro, who was reproached for being stingy with praise, did not find any technical flaws in the artist’s works, noting the “amazing coloring” of her works.