Charlotte in New York (4 page)

Mama tells me that Mr. Chase's studio is the talk of the town, and no wonder! Everywhere are costumes of velvet and silk, sparkling jewels, masks and marionettes, paintings and tapestries—even a big swan with a black beak and a pink flamingo (stuffed!). Not only that, Mr. Chase does more than paint in here—he gives parties and hires a beautiful Spanish dancer to entertain his guests. Her name is Carmencita, but people call her “The Pearl of Seville.” Best of all, Mr. Chase told Papa he won't be needing the studio this summer—he'll be teaching at a painting school on Long Island. Papa can have the studio all to himself.

May 19, 1894

24 Fifth Avenue
New York

Lizzy and I can't wait to explore New York. From the window, we see that everybody has someplace special to go and something special to do. Everybody except us. Papa and Mr. Foster went to buy painting supplies. Mama and Mrs. Foster are going to the opera tonight and need their beauty rest. And Raymonde is
still
unpacking the trunks. When we asked her to come for a walk with us, she said, “Il faut patienter.” But we can't be patient. We decided to take Toby for a walk and be back before anyone noticed we had gone.

When we got to Mr. Chase's studio, it started to rain. I knocked on the door. There was no answer. As I pushed the door open, a man shouted from inside, “Hold it! Stop right there!” And we did! We didn't move a muscle for a very long time. Then we peeked in. We saw two girls, standing as still as can be. And, on the other side of the room, Mr. Chase working at his easel. He was painting their portrait.

Later, Cosy Chase, who is our age, told us her father often makes her and her sisters stop in the middle of a game to pose. She doesn't mind, though. She even wears a bit of red every day just in case. Mr. Chase likes a touch of red in all his paintings.

Suddenly there was a loud clap of thunder. Quick as a wink, Toby was out the door and up the street. I was afraid we'd never catch him! But a tall woman—I couldn't see her face, it was so dark—picked him up and held him until we caught up. Then she hailed a carriage and told the driver to take us home. I said, “Thank you, Mrs. . . .” “Miss,” she said, “Miss Cassatt.” We were so surprised!

When we rang our doorbell, Raymonde answered. She took muddy Toby down to the kitchen for a good scrubbing. “Ne vous inquietez-pas!”—Don't worry!—she said, and promised not to tell.

June 1, 1894

24 Fifth Avenue
New York

The Fosters had to leave yesterday for Boston. Mr. Foster has business there. I miss Lizzy already!

I hope they're back in time for the Havemeyers' ball. A footman brought our invitation on a silver tray. Mama has talked of nothing else since she heard about it. And she still hasn't decided what costume to wear! I'm going to be Mademoiselle La La, the famous acrobat at the circus in Paris. The dressmaker is making me a sparkly dress and, for Toby the circus dog, polka-dot pantaloons and a pointy hat to match.

The Casino Restaurant
Central Park
New York

Papa and I are having lunch with his friend from Boston, Mr. Maurice Prendergast. We met here in Central Park. It took a while to find him; there were so many people. He was finishing a watercolor. Quickly, he painted me in it. My pink parasol, too!

On our way here, we passed fields of sheep and goats. We saw camels, too. When the grass gets high, they hitch a camel to a mowing machine and put it to work.

At the menagerie we saw a fat hippopotamus and a buffalo bison named Black Diamond. And elephants belonging to Mr. P. T. Barnum. He keeps them there when his circus isn't traveling. The big birdcage was filled with brightly colored parrots from faraway places. They squawked and screeched so loudly, Mr. Prendergast had to shout to give us news of Monsieur Gauguin. He has sailed away to the South Seas to paint and lives on a sunny island called Tahiti. “Au revoir, Monsieur Gauguin!” Goodbye!