Children Playing on the Beach

Two young girls dressed in white sit together on a sandy shore, absorbed in play while sailing boats drift across the blue water behind them. The painting dates from 1884 and was made in oil by Mary Cassatt; it is held today at the National Gallery of Art. Cassatt, born in 1844 and died in 1926, worked within the Impressionist movement and also created the notable painting Little Girl in a Blue Armchair. One detail worth noticing is how the girls' pale dresses stand out sharply against the dark sand, drawing the eye toward their hands as they work at something in front of them. The distant boats add a sense of open space beyond the children's close, absorbed activity, balancing the composition between near and far.