Lady at the Tea Table

Lady at the Tea Table is a late 19th-century painting by American artist Mary Cassatt.

[1] The painting depicts Mary Dickinson Riddle, Cassatt's mother's first cousin, seated at a table set with a tea service.

The tea service is gilded blue-and-white porcelain from Canton (modern day Guangzhou) in Qing dynasty China; in the 19th century, Canton was renowned for its exports to the Western world, as the port city was one of the centers of the Old China Trade.

[1] The painting exemplifies much of Cassatt's unique impressionist style; much emphasis is placed on the subject's stark outline, and Mrs. Riddle's jewelry pairs with the gold gilt on the tea service.

The relative simplicity of the painting's design is also comparable to orientalist art, which Cassatt was influenced by.