Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
The "Little Dancer" wax sculpture we see today is a reworked version of the original sculpture that was shown in 1881. After seeing the wax sculpture in Degas’ living quarters in April 1903, the New York collector Louisine Havemeyer expressed interest in buying the wax. After proposing a bronze or cast wax of the sculpture, which Mrs. Havemeyer refused, Degas took his wax figure upstairs to his working studio and told Vollard he was reworking the sculpture for Havemeyer for 40,000 francs. Degas never sold the sculpture to Mrs. Havemeyer. After Degas died, it was found in a corner of his studio. Paul Lefond, Degas’ biographer, described the "Little Dancer" wax after Degas’ death as "nothing but a ruin;" and Mary Cassatt telegraphed Mrs. Havemeyer "Statue Bad Condition." However, the wax sculpture we know today is not a ruin. It is Degas' reworked second version of his wax figure. At some point before Degas extensively reworked his sculpture, he allowed a plaster to be cast from the wax figure. This recently re-discovered plaster records the "Little Dancer"’s original pose, bodice, and hairdo. The plaster is now in a private collection in the United States.
Ellen Price
In 1889 - 1895, Price was trained at school of Royal Danish Ballet and joined the theater of Royal Danish Ballet; she debuted on May, 28th 1895 with a pas de trois in the ballet "Window" (La Ventana) written by composer Hans Christian Lumbye and choreographed by August Bournonville. In 1903, she became a prima ballerina of Royal Danish Ballet. Her roles included "La Sylphide", "Cinderella", and "Little Mermaid".
The role of the Little Mermaid gave her the most unexpected glory. The ballet "The Little Mermaid", based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy-tale and set to music by Fini Henriques, was put by the choreographer Hans Beck (1861–1952) in 1909 with the Royal Danish Ballet. Among spectators of ballet had been Danish brewer and art collector Carl Jacobsen; the ballet left such a strong impression on him that he commissioned sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create a statue of the Little Mermaid. Though Price agreed to model for the statue, she refused to pose nude and her likeness was only used for the head of the statue. For the body of the statue, Eriksen used his wife Eline Eriksen as a model. The bronze statue that Eriksen created was unveiled on 23 August 1913 and presented to the city by Jacobsen. "The Little Mermaid" statue has since become a symbol of Copenhagen.