Edgar Degas

The artist's studio; (4th sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, July 2-4, 1919, no. 17, p. 21)
Georges Petit, Paris (sold: Société Georges Petit, Paris, 1933, no. 159, illustrated)
Henderson Collection, Paris
Molinar
M. Knoedler & Co., New York
John Levy Galleries, New York, by 1948
Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva

P. A. Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre, Paris, 1946, vol. II, no. 620, illustrated p. 353
Fiorella Minervino and Franco Russoli, L'Opera completa di Degas, Milan, 1970, no. 600, illustrated p. 114

In very good condition. The sheet is laid down; sheet is somewhat time darkened (with minor staining visible at 4 edges, particularly along right edge). There is a crease all along right edge (approximately 1 inch in from edge), with a 2 1/2 inch repaired tear at the top of the crease. Some scattered foxing in lower half of sheet; a small puncture above the signature at left, and a possible small abrasion under the sitter's left eye. Otherwise fine.
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 executed several pastel portraits of his close friends in the 1880's including such celebrated figures as Mary Cassat.  Pastel seems to have been his chosen medium, perhaps because of its softness and its subtlety, allowing Degas to suggest the character of the friend he chose to portray.  Though the present sitter is unidentified one would assume that it was a woman that Degas knew well.
"Portraiture was as important for Degas as landscape for the Impressionists with whom he had associated.  Portraits constitute more than half Degas's entire output during the first 20 years of his career and a third of his whole oeuvre.  Considering that Degas had independent means and these portraits, mostly of friends, were not done to earn money, it is evident that portraiture was a means of artistic experiment for him, and an important element of his search for a 'modern' art.  As he himself put it, he wanted to transform 'a character head into a study of modern sensibility'.... His portraits, whether of his family, of his friends, of himself, of Paris celebrities, are both fresh and monumental, some seeming as ageless as ancient Roman Protraits, others as elegant as a Bronzino or as tormented as a Munch" (Felix Baumann, Degas Portraits, London, 1994).