Easy to read, American Painter in Paris's clarity results not from simplistic sentence structure or limited vocabulary but from carefully constructed sentences and well chosen words. Wilson never defines the handful of French phrases scattered through the book, but the meanings are usually self-evident from the context in which they are used.

A biography that begins with the moment of its subject's birth and then proceeds to list virtually every known fact about the person can be exceedingly dreary. Wilson avoids this potential pitfall by beginning with a pivotal day in Cassatt's life. Of Cassatt's earlier life, Wilson relates only what is relevant to her vocation, such as the childhood trips to Paris. Wilson then focuses on the high points of the artist's life. Thus her successes in showing at the Salon with the impressionist group are recounted in detail; her travels and studies in Italy...