one acquires the latter living in France. it was everyone's dream to be accepted into this salon and amazingly enough, Mary cassatt got one of her paintings into the salon 1868 it was before Thomas Aikens did it was before any of her her male friends American male friends and parents so naturally it was great that change was in the air the power of the salon the taste of its leaders and the jury process itself were beginning to be challenged some artists are leaving the Academy style and each one seeking a new way consequently just now everything is chaos but I suppose in the end they will be better for the change Eliza Holman returned to the United States that winter eventually to marry and give up. the life of an artist Mary remained in Paris two more years. an ambitious young woman, she balanced her distaste for the politics of the salon against her excitement at being included among its prestigious members. she was on a collision course with the salon system. she was a little bit too open minded, a little bit too interested in other kinds of art and a little bit too open in expressing her opinions. it took the Franco Prussian war to drive her from