Saint Louis Art Museum Acquires Important Painting by Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas: “The Milliners”, 1898

Saint Louis Art Museum Acquires Important Painting by Edgar Degas

Acquisition among Most Noteworthy in Museum’s History

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September 12, 2007 – The Saint Louis Art Museum has purchased The Milliners (Les Modistes), an important painting by the French artist Edgar Degas. Painted in about 1898 as part of a series the artist launched at the height of Impressionism, the work bridges the 19th and 20th centuries. The Milliners, which is pioneering in its bold use of color, complements the great strengths of the Museum’s collection of Impressionist and early 20th-century art.

The painting was first sold after the artist’s death at the sale of the contents of his studio and has been in private hands ever since. The work joins the Museum’s notable holdings in various media by Degas, including two pastels, three drawings, nine prints and two sculptures.

This major acquisition fills what has been considered a significant gap; the Museum did not previously have an oil painting by Degas. It adds an important new dimension to the Museum’s already extensive collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century art, which includes masterpieces by Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso, as well as world-renowned holdings of German Expressionism.

“The acquisition of this painting not only fills a major gap, it transforms our holdings of French painting of the late 19th and early 20th centuries,” said Brent Benjamin, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum. “It is rare to be presented with the opportunity to acquire a painting of this superb quality. This work is an extraordinary addition to what is already a major strength of the St. Louis collection.”

The key elements of The Milliners are two female figures and a prominent, centrally placed feather arching between them as they decorate a vivid yellow hat with streaming ribbons. Degas’ fascination with the materials, textures and colors of the milliners’ craft is evident. In addition to its bold geometry and rich colors, The Milliners is unabashedly modern in its engagement with contemporary subject matter.

While the Museum continues to develop its ambitious plans for a building expansion, its collection continues to grow through gifts and purchases. The Museum’s Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of art based on the recommendation of the Collections Committee.

“It is extraordinary to be presented with such a wonderful opportunity to build the quality and depth of the Museum’s permanent collection,” said Emily Rauh Pulitzer, chair of the Collections Committee. “This acquisition will bring to our public in St. Louis a masterpiece that has been in private hands for nearly a century.”

A leader among his Impressionist peers, Degas produced works of great complexity and ambition throughout his prolific career. Among the themes the artist explored were dancers, bathers, ironers and milliners – modern representations of women at work. His exploration of the subject of millinery began in the late 1870s and continued into the first decade of the 20th century. Degas produced more than 20 works on the theme in pastel and oil.

“In this work, as in his depictions of dancers, bathers and ironers, Degas displays empathy toward his subjects,” said Charlotte Eyerman, curator of modern and contemporary art. “Degas, like the milliners he represents, uses humble raw materials to create something spectacular.”

The painting is on view in Gallery 214 on the Main Level of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums with collections that include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period. Areas of notable depth include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19th and 20th centuries, with particular strengths in 20th-century German art. The Art Museum offers a full range of exhibitions and educational programming generated independently and in collaboration with local, national and international partners.

Admission to the Saint Louis Art Museum is free to all every day; featured exhibition admission is free on Fridays. For more information about the Saint Louis Art Museum, call 314.721.0072 or visit www.slam.org.