Feb. 12 through May 7, 2017
The first exhibition to explore Edgar Degas’ fascination with high-fashion hats and the women who made opened at the Saint Louis Art Museum on Feb. 12 and runs through May 7.
The exhibition—organized by the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco—is the first to examine the height of the millinery trade in Paris, from around 1875 to 1914, as reflected in the work of the Impressionists. In addition to works by Degas, the exhibition explores millinery’s place in Impressionist iconography by including works by his peers, as well as 40 exquisite examples of period hats.
Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917; “The Millinery Shop”,
1879-1886; oil on canvas; 39 3/8 x 49 9/16 inches; The Art Institute of
Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection
Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917; “At the Milliner (Chez la Modiste)”, ca. 1882-85; oil on canvas; 24 1/4 x 29 inches; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon; Photo: Travis Fullerton © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917; “Self-Portrait in the Soft Hat”, 1857; oil on paper mounted on canvas; 10 ¼ x 7 ½ inches; Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA
It is accompanied by a scholarly, full-color catalogue.
The catalogue is edited by the exhibition’s co-curators, Simon Kelly, curator of modern and contemporary art at the Saint Louis Art Museum, and Esther Bell, curator in charge of European paintings at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Featuring sumptuous paintings, pastels and preparatory drawings by Degas, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, among others, this generously illustrated book surveys the millinery industry of 19th-century Paris.
Featuring sumptuous paintings, pastels and preparatory drawings by Degas, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, among others, this generously illustrated book surveys the millinery industry of 19th-century Paris.
Peppered throughout with photographs, posters and prints of French hats, the book includes essays that explore Degas’ particular interest in the millinery trade; the tension between modern fashion and reverence for history and the grand art-historical tradition; a chronicle of Parisian milliners from Caroline Reboux to Coco Chanel; and examples of how the millinery trade is depicted in literature. Brilliantly linking together the worlds of industry, art and fashion, this book examines the fundamental role of hats and hat makers in 19th-century culture.
The catalogue includes contributions by the exhibition curators, as well as Susan Hiner, Françoise Tétart-Vittu, Melissa Buron, Laura Camerlengo, Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell and Abigail Yoder.
- Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917; “The Milliners”, c.1898; oil canvas; 29 5/8 x 32 ¼ inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Director’s Discretionary Fund; and a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur D. May, Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, Mr. and Mrs. Sydney M. Shoenberg Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Sydney M. Shoenberg Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Irving Edison, and Harry Tenenbaum, bequest of Edward Mallinckrodt Sr., and gift of Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Levin, by exchange
Edgar Degas, French, 1834–1917; “Woman Holding a Hat in Her Hand”, c.1885; pastel on paper; 19 1/4 x 25 1/8 inches; Private collection © Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images
Edgar Degas, French, 1834–1917; “Chez la Modiste”, c. 1898; pastel on paper; 35 13/16 x 29 1/2 inches; Inv. RF37073; Photo: Herve Lewandowski, Musée d’Orsay © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY
Edgar Degas, French, 1834–1917; “Woman Adjusting her Hair”, c.1884; charcoal, chalk, and pastel on buff-coloured laid paper; 24 13/16 x 23 9/16 inches; The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
- Jean Béraud, French, 1849–1936; “Paris, rue du Havre”, 1882; oil on canvas; 13 7/8 × 10 3/4 inches; National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection, 1970
James Joseph Jacques Tissot, French, 1836–1902; “The Shop Girl”, 1883–85; oil on canvas; 57 1/2 x 40 inches; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada/Bridgeman Images
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French, 1841–1919; “The Milliner”, c.1879; pastel on paper; 21 × 16 1/4 inches; Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973 (1974.356.34)
Édouard Manet, French, 1832–1883; “At the Milliner’s”, 1881; oil on canvas; 33 1/2 × 29 inches; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Mildred Anna Williams Collection; Photography by Joseph McDonald, © Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
- Berthe Morisot, French, 1841-1895; “Young Girl on the Grass, Mlle Isabelle Lambert”, 1885; oil canvas; 29 1/8 x 23 5/8 inches; Ordrupgaard Museum
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, 1864-1917; “M. Delaporte at the Jardin de Paris”, c. 1893; gauache on cardboard, glued to wood; 29 15/16 x 27 9/16 inches; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photo: Ole Haupt
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Mary Cassatt, American, 1844-1926; “Young Woman in Black (Portrait of Madame J)”, 1883; oil on canvas; 31 1/2 x 25 inches; Collection of the Maryland State Archives: The Peabody Art Collection
