In the Omnibus

Mary Cassatt

National Gallery of Art

Printed with black lines and areas of dark gray on cream-white paper, two women, one holding a baby on her lap, sit on the long bench seat of an omnibus in this vertical composition. The women and their full skirts take up almost the width of the composition against the gray bench, which extends off both sides. The woman to our left wears a high-collared dress, gloves, and hat. She looks off to our right, almost in profile. She has a round face and the hint of a double chin. One gloved hand rests on a cane. The other woman holds the baby and tips her head down toward the child. Both women’s black hair is pulled up under their hats. The baby wears a white bonnet, a blousy garment, stockings, and shoes, and holds a gray ball in one hand. A row of windows behind them, parallel to the top of the bench, open onto an arched bridge spanning a river with boats. To our left, the water’s edge is lined with puffy forms reminiscent of trees and bushes. The artist signed the work with her initials in graphite in the bottom right, “MC.”