George Moore c. 1880

Curator: Mary Cassatt etched this portrait of the Irish novelist George Moore. The print is part of the collection at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: He looks like a ghost! Looming out of the shadows... I feel as if he's about to tell me a very long, boring story. Curator: Well, Moore was a prominent figure in the art world, known for championing Impressionism. Cassatt, of course, was a vital member of that movement. Editor: I see it now! It's intimate, like a stolen moment... a secret glimpse. But still, that ghostly pallor! Did they even have lighting back then? Curator: The etching captures Moore's intellectual intensity, perhaps? It's a study in contrasts, and the medium itself, etching, lends to the mood. Editor: Maybe he just needed a good cup of coffee. Regardless, Cassatt has a strong point of view. This image intrigues as much as it unsettles.