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Portrait of a Woman in Gray

ca. 1865
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 810
This beguiling sitter is depicted as if in a transitory moment, seemingly about to rise from the sofa, a slight smile on her lips. Degas rarely painted a face that reflects such good humor and calm. The woman is unidentified, but may well have been someone the artist knew intimately. He executed few commissioned portraits, preferring instead to depict family and friends, and seldom sold the portraits that he did paint. This work was in Degas’s studio at the time of his death and was included in his 1918 estate sale, as indicated by the stamped signature in the lower right corner.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Woman in Gray
  • Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1865
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 36 x 28 1/2 in. (91.4 x 72.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin C. Vogel, 1957
  • Object Number: 57.171
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Huit Sonnets. . .Illustré de dix-nuef dessins inédits de Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Wittenborn and Co., La Jeune Parque
1946
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl, Edgar Degas French, Aquatint, drypoint, and etching; printed from canceled plate
Seated Woman in Bonnet and Shawl
Edgar Degas
ca. 1879
At the Café des Ambassadeurs, Edgar Degas French, Etching, softground, drypoint, and aquatint; fifth (final) state; canceled plate
At the Café des Ambassadeurs
Edgar Degas
1879–80
Greek Landscape, Edgar Degas French, Etching (only state; impression from cancelled plate)
Greek Landscape
Edgar Degas
1856
On Stage III, Edgar Degas French, Softground etching,drypoint, and roulette on wove paper; fourth state of five
On Stage III
Edgar Degas
1876–77

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