The Cup of Tea is an oil painting on canvas by Mary Cassatt. It was painted about 1880. It measures 36 3/8 x 25 3/4 in. (92.4 x 65.4 cm). The picture hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The artist made the tea ritual the subject of a series of works painted around 1880-81. The model was her sister, Lydia, who often posed for her. Cassatt showed the painting to critical acclaim in the 1881 Impressionist exhibition.