The drawings of Degas

One of the best-kept art secrets in New Orleans is Newcomb Art Gallery. It's part of Tulane's campus, and it hosts free art exhibits several times a year. Their current show is "Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist" but the subtitle explains the exhibit: "Works on paper by the artist and his circle".

The three rooms of the gallery displayed drawings, sketches, and etchings by Degas and his contemporaries - and some photographic portraiture.

Degas is seated. 

Degas hung with the artsy crowd. Here he is with two composers...the one on the right is Debussy!

I enjoyed some of his more classical drawings, and sketches he made off of works in the Louvre.

There were lots of etchings and prints, but most of them were off of his canceled plates! This kind of kills me - I mean, the whole point of canceling the plate is to prevent reproduction, and here we are not only reproducing it, but then putting the finished product in a museum.

Slashed! But still, isn't the face incredibly expressive, especially for a print?

Some of Degas' photography was included, too:

And graphite portraits:

One of two famous dancer sketches:

This charming painting from his race horse phase:

And some classic subject matter, like this performer. Don't you love how he captured the stage lights on her skin?

The best part is that we can walk to the gallery, so I can come back and make sketches or enjoy the art as much as I want until the show closes in May.