I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira

 Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American painter and printmaker, who lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists.

This story begins with Mary at the age of 33. She has been back in Paris for the last two years. As her paintings continue to be rejected for exhibitions, she has been contemplating if she should listen to her father and move back to the States.

As she is contemplating, an acquaintance of hers introduces her to Edgar Degas, of whom she’s been a huge admirer. What she doesn’t know is that four years earlier he saw a painting of hers, which showed talent. And he wanted to meet her as well.

Degas introduces her to his circle of friends, which include Manet, Monet, Pissaro, Renior and Caillebotte. He also invites her to join their next exhibition. An Exhibition, which they started in order to break away from the traditional Salon.

The long awaited exhibition comes and as Degas’ reviews are flattering, reviews of Mary’s work are brutal.

This isn’t the only dilemma she is facing. She is questioning if Degas is capable of love. One moment he can be generous, the other he is crude. 

Degas doesn’t know how to talk about love or how to express it. What he is good about is sketching naked women. He has those sketches hidden in a drawer. What would world think of him if he exposed them?

This moving story is of love, friendship, struggle, and understanding; beautifully crafted through the art and its exhibitions; touching upon human emotions and making a lasting impression as Impressionists did with their paintings.

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