In Our Backyard

Rare Impressionist masterpiece travels to Texas for limited engagement

This fall, art lovers across Texas can see Mary Cassatt's masterpiece The Cup of Tea during a very limited engagement at the McNay Art Museum. The painting, considered one of the cornerstone works of Impressionism, is on loan to the San Antonio museum from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Instantly recognizable, The Cup of Tea is a quintessential example of Cassatt's trademark style. The painting, featuring a woman — specifically Cassatt's sister Lydia — dressed in pink and enjoying a cup of tea, made the artist a critical darling when it was first revealed during a Parisian exhibition in 1881.

That painting, along with The Boating Party, Child in a Straw Hat, and Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, officially cemented Cassatt's status as the only American — and one of the only women — working within the Impressionist movement.

“What makes Cassatt’s work compelling is how she elevates what could be dismissed as mundane subject matter through her masterful approach to color and composition,” explains Heather Lammers, McNay collections manager and curator, in a November 5 release. “Her innovations of visible brush strokes and emphasis on the changing qualities of light bring a level of sensitivity and beauty to depictions of everyday social scenes.”

The piece is on loan from the Met for three months, and will be displayed as part of "Mary Cassatt’s Women," the McNay's current exhibition. Attendees to "Women" can view The Cup of Tea alongside Cassatt aquatints and drawings from the McNay's permanent collection.

"Mary Cassatt’s Women" is the culmination of decades of work on behalf of the San Antonio museum to highlight women artists, organizers explain in a release. "We’re very fortunate to have been founded by a woman artist and have gender parity in our DNA,” says McNay director Richard Aste. "Thanks to [museum founder and namesake] Marion Koogler McNay, our collection begins with the art of Impressionists Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Mary Cassatt. This focused exhibition is a fitting tribute to her legacy.”

The Cup of Tea and "Mary Cassatt's Women" is on display now through February 9, 2020, during regular museum hours. Entry to the McNay is free for members, $20 for adults, $10 for children ages 13-19, and free for children 12 and under.

Fans looking to truly embrace the spirit of the painting can do so on November 13 during Tea with Mary Cassatt. Attendees will enjoy tea and scones while Karen Pope, a former art history professor at Baylor University, "discusses the only American artist to be officially incorporated into the Impressionist movement." Tickets for that event are $40 for members, $45 for non-members, and can be purchased here.

The Cup of Tea is on loan from the Met in New York.

Photo courtesy of the McNay Art Museum

The Cup of Tea is on loan from the Met in New York.

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RESTORING THE ALAMO

Texas' iconic Alamo unearths bronze cannonball used in historic battle

Photo by Daniel Schwen/ CC BY-SA 4.0

The Alamo has unearthed a cannonball likely used in the original battle.

Most tourists don't realize it, but in addition to being one of the most-visited sites in the United States, the Alamo is also an active archeological site. And during its newest excavation, it unearthed a doozy — a fully-intact cannonball that can be traced back to Texas' most famous battle.

The Alamo first broke the news on Stories Bigger Than Texas: The Alamo Podcast. The artillery shell was discovered on March 5, 2026, a day before the 190th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo.

"I have chills now, just thinking about it," the Alamo's Director of Archaeology, Dr. Tiffany Lindley, told the podcast hosts. "March 5th is when we pulled it out of the ground. I don't think words can express the feelings that we all felt."

Alamo cannonball The cannonball is four pounds and made of solid bronze.Photo courtesy of the Alamo Trust

The four-pound, solid bronze cannonball was discovered approximately three feet below ground outside the Alamo Church. The dig’s layers of soil settled in a clearly visible pattern, allowing the archeologists to date the object with near certainty.“

"We can’t say with 100% certainty that it came from the Mexican Army, but I would say 99% because largely the Mexican Army is using bronze cannonballs and largely the Texans are using iron cannonballs," said Alamo's Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham. "Doesn’t mean they didn’t capture each other’s stuff and use it, but I would say with a fair amount of certainty that this is a Mexican Army cannonball and it was likely fired at the Battle of the Alamo — or it could have been during the 12-day siege.”

The cannonball isn’t the only Alamo artifact that was recently discovered. In January, the trust celebrated the return of one of the 1836 cannons. The weapon was found by a descendant of Samuel Maverick’s family, who said it was used as the base of a birdbath.

history artifacts archeaology texas history alamo