Edgar Degas
Biography

Edgar Degas is a French Impressionist artist, who became well known for his depictions of ballerinas. 

He was resistant to align himself with the movement, as his refined drawing style set him apart from the others. He often belittled impressionist painters and their practice of painting en plein air. However, his scenes of Parisian life, his off-center compositions, his experiments with color and form, and his friendship with several key Impressionist artists—most notably Mary Cassatt and Manet—all relate him intimately to the Impressionist movement.

In the late 1870s, Degas experienced a profound period of creativity, working prolifically in sculpture, printmaking, and painting despite his failing eyesight. During the later part of his career he used pastels increasingly which allowed him to work faster and with greater dexterity. The figure remained his primary subject throughout his career; his few landscapes were produced from memory or imagination. He was a deliberative artist, Degas himself explained, “In art, nothing should look like chance, not even movement”.

Today, his works are held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery in London, among others.

Born: 1834
Died: 1917
Education: National School of Fine Arts, University of Paris, Lycée Louis-le-Grand

Exhibitions

Select Exhibitions

2022
Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist — Works on Paper by the Artist and His Circle, MUSCARELLE MUSEUM OF ART WILLIAMSBURG | VIRGINIA | USA

2021
Encore Degas! Ballet, Fashion and Movement, THE NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART KANSAS CITY | MISSOURI | USA
Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist, THE CITADELLE CANADIAN | TEXAS | USA

2020
Degas, MASP, MUSEU DE ARTE DE SÃO PAULO SAO PAULO | BRAZIL
Degas at the Opera, NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON D.C. WASHINGTON D.C. | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | USA

2019
Degas at the Opera, MUSÉE D’ORSAY 7E | PARIS | FRANCE

2018
Degas: The Private Impressionist, POLK MUSEUM OF ART LAKELAND | FLORIDA | USA
Degas: A Passion for Perfection, DENVER ART MUSEUM SUN VALLEY | DENVER | COLORADO | USA

2017
Degas’s Drinker: portraits by Marcellin Desboutin, FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM CAMBRIDGE | UK
Degas, Danse, Dessin A Tribute to Degas with Paul Valéry, MUSÉE D’ORSAY 7E | PARIS | FRANCE
Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France, MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM MILWAUKEE | WISCONSIN | USA
Degas: a passion for perfection, FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM CAMBRIDGE | UK

2016
Degas: A New Vision, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON RIVER OAKS | HOUSTON | TEXAS | USA
Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty, MOMA, THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART MIDTOWN | NEW YORK | USA

2015
Edgar Degas, GLYPTOTEK VESTERBRO | COPENHAGEN | DENMARK

2014
Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist, THE FRICK ART MUSEUM PITTSBURGH | PENNSYLVANIA | USA

2012
Edgar Degas, FONDATION BEYELER, BASEL BASEL | SWITZERLAND

2010–2012
Edgar Degas, The Private Impressionist, Works on Paper by the Artist and his Circle, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL, USA; Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME (solo exhibition)

2009
Degas: master of French art, The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia (solo exhibition)
Edgar Degas. Intimity and Pose, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany (solo exhibition)

2007–2008
Degas in Bronze: The Complete Sculptures, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL, USA (solo exhibition)

2006–2007
Edgar Degas: The Last Landscapes, The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH, USA (solo exhibition)

2006
Degas at the Getty, The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA (solo exhibition)

2005
Degas at Harvard, The Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, MA, USA (solo exhibition)

2004
Degas Sculptures, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, USA; The Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID (solo exhibition)
Degas and the Italians in Paris, Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland (solo exhibition)
Art in the Making: Degas, The National Gallery, London, UK (solo exhibition)
All 73 sculptures by Edgar Degas, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ (solo exhibition)

2003
Degas and the Dance, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA (solo exhibition)

2000
Degas Pastel Society: Eighth Biennial National Exhibition, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS, USA (solo exhibition)

1996–1997
Degas: Beyond Impressionism, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; The National Gallery, London, UK (solo exhibition)

1979
Degas and the Dance, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, USA (solo exhibition)

1974–1975
Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA

1925
Edgar Degas Sculpture, Ferargil Gallery, New York, NY, USA (solo exhibition)

1922
Exhibition of Bronzes by Degas, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, France (solo exhibition)

1905
Grafton Galleries, London, UK

1892
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, France (solo exhibition)

1886
Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris, The American Art Galleries; The National Academy of Design, New York, NY, USA
8me Exposition de Peinture, 1 rue Laffitte, Paris, France

1881
6me Exposition de Peinture, 35 boulevard des Capucines, Paris, France

1880
5me Exposition de Peinture, 10 rue des Pyramides, Paris, France

1879
4me Exposition de Peinture, 28 avenue de l’Opéra, Paris, France

1877
3me Exposition de Peinture, 6 rue Le Peletier, Paris, France

1876
Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, France

1874
Société Anonyme des Artistes, Paris, France

1870
The Salon, Paris, France

1869
The Salon, Paris, France

1868
The Salon, Paris, France

1867
The Salon, Paris, France

1866
The Salon, Paris, France

1865
The Salon, Paris, France