European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Little Dancer,
Aged FourteenMade in Paris, France, Europe Executed in wax
1878-81; cast in bronze after 1922 Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas,
French, 1834 - 1917. Bronze cast by the foundry Adrien Hébrard,
Paris. Bronze, tulle, and silk 1986-26-11The Henry P. McIlhenny
Collection in memory of Frances P. McIlhenny, 1986 LabelDegas
depicted young ballet dancers--in performances, at rehearsals,
or at moments of exhausted rest--in numerous paintings,
drawings, pastels, and monotypes. In 1878, he added sculpture to
his investigation of the theme. A young dancer named Marie van
Goethem posed for what would be the only sculpture that Degas
exhibited in his lifetime. Originally executed in wax and shown
in 1881, the work daringly incorporated real elements such as
the dancer's tulle tutu and silk hair ribbon. The sculpture was
cast in bronze around 1922, several years after Degas's death. *
Works in the collection are moved off view for many different
reasons. Although ga