Berthe Morisot was born January 14, 1841, in Bourges, France, into a family of wealth and culture. She received the conventional lessons in drawing and painting. She went firmly against convention, however, in choosing to take these pursuits seriously and make them her life's work. She was friends with Édouard Manet, who became her brother-in-law in 1874; he was the most important single influence on the development of her style. She confined her approach to a naturalistic framework. Morisot was the first woman to join the circle of the French impressionist painters.  Morisot and American artist Mary Cassatt are generally considered the most important women painters of the later 19th century.  Morisot died in Paris on March 2, 1895.

Young Girl with a Parrot, 1873	Young Woman in a Ball Gown, 1879

Peasant Hanging out the Washing,  1881