In the 1890s, omnibuses—horse-drawn carriages carrying dozens of passengers—were how city people got around. Mary Cassatt captured an intimate moment of everyday travel: women adjusting their hats, lost in thought, sharing cramped quarters. This print shows transportation as it truly was: crowded, ordinary, and essential.
You climb aboard the crowded omnibus, finding a seat among women in hats, men in coats, a nurse, a shopper with parcels. The wheels rattle over cobblestones. Through the window, the city rolls past—storefronts, corners, lives intersecting for one short ride.
Reflect
What do you notice about strangers sharing tight spaces? Has that changed since 1890?