Edgar Degas

Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1ère Vente Degas, May 6-8, 1918, lot 14

Marcel Monteux, Paris

Wildenstein & Co., New York

John T. Dorrance, Jr. (acquired from the above on May 2, 1968 & sold: Sotheby's New York, October 18, 1989, lot 10)

Acquired at the above sale

Paul-André Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, vol. 3, Paris, 1946, no. 922, illustrated p. 536

Franco Russoli & Fiorella Minervino, L'Opera completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. 667, illustrated p. 116

The canvas has been lined. The surface is even and intact. Under UV, there is scattered retouching in the following areas: pin-points in the upper-left quadrant; a spot along the top edge; a spot in the figure's forehead and small specks in her chest, as well as spots along the bottom edge. Other areas of lighter, florescent occurances in the face may also to be retouching that is now obscured through varnish.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Degas achieved his first artistic success in the genre of portraiture, and continued painting friends and family members throughout his career. Painted between 1887 and 1890, Buste de femme depicts an unidentified woman who can be presumed to be an acquaintance from his circle of friends. As he did not need to make portraits for a living, Degas approached them with the same passion as his paintings of ballerinas and horse races. The fact that he knew his sitters meant that Degas could depict them with a familiarity and directness that is rarely present in commissioned portraits. His treatment of this genre changed throughout his career, from the stern, penetrating self-portraits of the 1850s, to the freer, Impressionist ones of his later years.

Accounting for about one fifth of his entire artistic production, Degas’ portraits are now considered to be more subtle and varied than any other painter’s in France in the second half of the nineteenth century. Discussing Degas’ portraiture of the 1880s, Jean Sutherland Boggs commented: "His sitters had always inevitably been his friends but now he did not subject them to the same penetrating analysis as in the past. Nor did he look down at them from a height instead he confronted them directly and amicably. He was no longer witty at their expense. Thirdly, he seldom gave his sitters a setting, such as would place them in the social fabric of France in the 1880s" (J.S. Boggs, “Degas as a Portraitist” Degas Portraits, Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1994, p. 65). Although the setting of the present work is not clearly identified, the artist offers some visual clues as to the social status of his sitter. With her clothes, hairstyle and her elegant posture, she can be identified as a member of the privileged class.