"A girl on the cusp of adolescence gazes down at a book. Her left hand rests against her flushed pink cheeks, while her right clutches the pages, ready to turn to find out what happens next. She has porcelain-like skin and golden hair seemingly full of air, executed in textures that contrast with the scratchy, loose marks that make up her shirt and the book's pages."
"When I look at this drawing, I am struck by how the artist, the American-born impressionist Mary Cassatt, has perfectly captured the all-consuming sensation of being submerged in a book the feeling that the whole world is dissolving around you. For a moment, only that story matters. Cassatt, who worked in Paris for most of her adult life when women were finally beginning to be accepted as artists (and deserving of state-funded art education), was hailed for her intimate portrayals of women and children."
"My reader is encouraged to make 'wish trees' in the manner of Yoko Ono It's a striking image for many reasons, one that it makes me think about all the works that helped me through adolescence. But it also feels especially pertinent today in a world where being immersed in a story is fast becoming a thing of the past for young people."
Mary Cassatt's drawing presents a girl on the cusp of adolescence absorbed in a book, depicted with porcelain-like skin and airy golden hair contrasted against scratchy marks. The image conveys the all-consuming sensation of being submerged in a story, where the surrounding world dissolves and only the narrative matters. Cassatt portrayed women and children with intimacy, emphasizing intellect and ambition while working in Paris during expanding opportunities for women artists. The scene evokes novels like Little Women and personal memories of formative works. Contemporary data show immersive reading declining: in 2025 the National Literacy Trust found fewer than one in five 8–18-year-olds read daily, a 36% decrease in enjoyment since 2005.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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