Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
18 x 12 in. (image) 25-1/4 x 18-1/2 in. (sheet)
Accession Number
Credit Line
Delavan Smith Fund
Copyright
Collection
Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
Color Palette
Provenance
Artist's Estate Sale, part 2, in December 1918.{1} Barthélémy, Paris, France.{2} Mary Quinn Sullivan [1877-1939], New York, New York, via an intermediary, Madame le Garrec;{3} purchased by the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1938. {1} Galerie Georges Petit, Tableaux, pastels et dessins par Edgar Degas et provenant de son atelier, 2e vente, 11-13 December 1918, no. 163. {2} Given in Paul-André Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, Paris, 1947-48, volume 3, no. 782 (illustrated) Lemoine did not know that this pastel was already in the United States when his catalogue raisonné was published. {3} Indianapolis native, and New York City resident, Mary Quinn Sullivan noted that this Degas pastel was "purchased at the Vente Degas by a collector from whom I bought it directly through Madame le Garrec."She was the daughter of Edmond Sagot, the print dealer. See letter from Sullivan to Wilbur Peat, dated 13 May 1938, in IMA Historical File (38.12).
Gallery Labels
This unusual perspective on a woman with arms crossed behind her back is typical of the unorthodox vantage points favored by Degas. His subject is believed to be an impatient young saleswoman whom he observed in a Parisian hat shop. The ingenious articulation of her shoulders and arms demonstrates his unerring draftsmanship, while the lustrous blue of the woman's bodice reflects the artist's deft use of pastel.
Though Degas often exhibited with the Impressionists and shared their interest in spontaneity, he was not attracted to their practice of rapid painting out of doors.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade
Saint Louis Art Museum
February 12, 2017 - May 14, 2017
Drawings by Edgar Degas
Minneapolis Institute of Art
May 16, 1967 - June 25, 1967
Drawings by Edgar Degas
Philadelphia Museum of Art
March 10, 1967 - April 30, 1967
Drawings by Edgar Degas
Saint Louis Art Museum
January 20, 1967 - February 26, 1967
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