Counterfeit Degas -Sculptures- at the National Gallery of Australia

NOTE: All footnotes are enclosed with { } in this monograph.










Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Little dancer aged fourteen (La petitte danseusse de quatorze ans) modelled 1880-81; cast 1920-21
bronze, gause ans satin
Funds given Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg
Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/ DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

All so-called sculptures in bronze, attributed to Edgar Degas, are posthumous -counterfeits-.

That would make all fourteen so-called -sculptures- in bronze (see addendum below), in the National Gallery of Australia's "Degas, Master of French Art" exhibition that opened December 12, 2008, -counterfeit-.

Edgar Degas was some three or more years dead (d. 1917) when those 2nd to 3rd-generation-removed counterfeits were posthumously reproduced in bronze with counterfeit -Degas- signatures applied between 1920 to 1936 or later.

Fortunately, the dead don't sculpt, much less sign anything.

This factual perspective is confirmed in the National Gallery of Art’s published 1998 Degas at the Races catalogue. On page 180 in Daphne S. Barbour’s and Shelly G. Strum’s “The Horse in Wax and Bronze” essay, these authors wrote: “Degas never cast his sculpture in bronze, claiming that it was a “tremendous responsibility to leave anything behind in bronze -- the medium is for eternity.”{1}

Additionally, on the National Gallery of Art’s www.nga.gov/education/degas-11.htm website, it states: “By comparing the sculpture to stylistic changes in Degas' paintings and pastels, we are developing a chronology for the sculpture, which Degas did not date or sign.”

Yet, in the Canberra Times' published October 17, 2008 "Persevering curatormakes impression on Degas owners" article by arts editor Diane Streak, the arts editor wrote: "Director Ron Radford revealed that, just last week, the gallery had secured the loan of Degas's most renowned sculpture, La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans (Little Dancer Aged Fourteen) from the St Louis Art Museum."{2}

This so-called "Degas's most renowned sculpture" is in "bronze" with a "1920" date.

This is confirmed on St. Louis Art Museum's website{3}:

"Edgar Degas,
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years,
c.1880, cast c.1920,
French, 1834–1917,
bronze, gauze, and satin,
M / 28,
38 1/2 x 16 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (97.8 x 41.3 x 34.9 cm),
Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg,
Accession Number: 135:1956"

Yet, amazingly, in this same Canberra Times' published article, the arts editor quotes the National Gallery of Australia's director Ron Radford stating: "'This sculpture has never before been seen in the southern hemisphere and is regarded as a turning point in the development of modern sculpture.''{4}

Ironically, it has never before been seen by artist Edgar Degas himself because remember he was dead in 1920.

Now, for the devastating fact.

The St. Louis Art Museum is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors{4}. As an AAMD member, they endorse the College Art Association's ethical guidelines on sculptural reproductions. In part, those ethical guidelines state: "any transfer into new material unless condone by the artist, is to be considered inauthentic or counterfeit and should not be acquired or exhibited as works of art."{5}

Since, Edgar Degas died in 1917, the dead can't condoned anything in 1920.

National Gallery of Australia, at one time under former director Brian Kennedy, was a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors.{6}

So, is the acceptance and exhibition of at least fourteen counterfeit sculptures in bronze, falsely attributed to Edgar Degas, just a lack of connoisseurship by NGA's director Ron Radford and senior curator Jane Kinsman?

WHAT IS CONNOISSEURSHIP?
In Paul Duro & Michael Greenhalgh’s published Essential Art History, -connoisseurship- is defined as: “that of the art expert able to distinguish between the authentic and non-authentic, for example between an original and a copy.”

At the $20 price of admission, government grants, tax incentives, corporate sponsorships and other monetary considerations and the like that comes with the prestige a blockbuster exhibition brings to a museum, is that potentially too high a price for the public to pay to view what would normally be found in a museum gift shop?

LAW, ETHICS AND THE VISUAL ARTS

On page 816 in the 1998 Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts{7} by John Henry Merryman and Albert E. Elsen, the authors wrote: "The most serious harm that good counterfeits do is to confuse and misdirect the search for valid learning. The counterfeit object falsifies history and misdirects inquiry. - Museum and art historical resources are always limited. What gets acquired, displayed, conserved and studied is the result of a continuous process of triage, in which some objects can be favoured only at the expense of others. Counterfeit objects distort the process. - There remains the most obvious harm of all: counterfeit cultural objects are instruments of fraud."

CONCLUSION

The reputations and legacy of living and past artists, present and future museum art patrons and the art-buying public deserve the re-establishment of the obvious; that the living presence and participation of the artist to once again be required, as it always should have been, to create the piece of art attributable to the artist if indeed it is attributed to them, much less purported to have been signed by them.

To learn more, click on: DEGAS BRONZE FAKES, The ABCs of one of the largest...

or cut & paste this link: http://garyarseneau.blogspot.com/2007/05/all-degas-bronze-sculptures-are-fake.html

FOOTNOTES:
1) © 1998 National Gallery of Art ISBN 0-300-07517-0

2)http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/persevering-curatormakes-impression-on-degas-owners/1336344.aspx

3)http://stlouis.art.museum/emuseum/code/emuseum.asp?style=Browse&currentrecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=degas&quicksearch=degas&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=3

4) http://www.aamd.org/about/members.php

5) www.collegeart.org/guidelines/sculpture.html

6) http://www.aamd.org/contact/
Administrative Office:
120 East 56th Street, Suite 520
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-754-8084
Fax: 212-754-8087

7) ISBN 90-411-0697-9 © Kluwer Law International 1998

ADDENDUM:
1 of 14 Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Horse gallopin on right foot (Cheval au galop sur le pled droit),
modelled c. 1890; cast c. 1926, bronze, The David Draper Dayton Fund,
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mineapolis
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://www.artsmia.org/viewer/detail.php?v=12&id=1265
Title:Galloping Horse
Artist:Edgar Degas
Date:c. 1890 modeled, c. 1926 cast
Medium:Cast bronze
Dimensions:12 x 18 1/2 x 8 3/8 in. (30.5 x 47.0 x 21.3 cm) [width at base is 8 1/4"]
Creation Place:Europe, France
Credit Line:The David Draper Dayton Fund
Accession Number:55.15
Location:Not on view

2 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Horse walking (Cheval marchant au pas releve) modelled c. 1881; cast 1919-30, bronze,
The Trustees of the Barbar Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Birmingham
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://mimsy.bham.ac.uk/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&f=&s=&record=2&maker=degas&op-earliest_year=%3D&op-latest_year=%3D
Institution: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Artist / Maker: After Degas, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar (1834-1917)
Title / Object name: Horse trotting
Object type: Sculpture
Culture: French
Date made: C.1919
Materials: Bronze
Inscriptions: Inscribed on base: Degas. Foundry mark on base: CIRE/PERDUE/A.A.HEBRARD.
Measurements: 22.5 x 22.2 cm.
ID number: 50.3
Description: Cast no. 11/T out of 22 taken posthumously between 1919 and 1921 from the original wax model by Degas, now in a private collection. Conventionally entitled 'Horse walking', but the action is of a formal trot.

3 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Study for Little dancer aged fourteen (Etude pour La petitte dansuse de quatorze ands) modelled 1879-81; cast 1919-21, bronze, Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

4 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer, grande arabesque, third study (previosuly known as second study) (Danseuse, grande arabesqie. troisierre temps, autrefois apelee deusxleme etude) modelled c. 1892-96; cast 1920, bronze, H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O. Havermeyer, 1929,
The Metropolitan Museum of art, New York © The Metropolitan Museum of art
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

5 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Horse at a trough ( Cheval a l’abreuvoir) modelled 1860-68; cast 1920, bronze,
H.O. Havermeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O. Havermeyer, 1929,
The Metropolitan Museum of art, New York © The Metropolitan Museum of art
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dgsb/ho_29.100.433.htm
Horse at Trough, cast in 1920 from a wax sculpture of probably ca. 1866–68
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
Bronze, number 13/A; 6 1/2 x 8 7/8 x 5 6/16 in. (16.5 x 22.5 x 16.2 cm)
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.433)
The original wax version of the Horse at Trough is probably one of the earliest surviving sculptures by Degas. It has long been recognized as the same horse that stands drinking on the bank of the spring in the painting Mlle Fiocre in the Ballet "La Source" that is now in the Brooklyn Museum in New York. The ballet, choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to music by Ludwig Minkus and Léo Delibes, opened at the Paris Opéra on November 12, 1866. Degas' painting was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1868. The celebrated Eugénie Fiocre (1845–1908) was the subject of several drawings by Degas, as well as an enchanting portrait bust by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.

6 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer, open arabesque on right leg, left arm aligned {Danseuse, arabesque ouverte sure la jambe droite breas gauche dans la ligne), modelled 1883-95; cast 1919-30, bronze, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

7 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer, fourth position, standing on her left leg, third study {Danseuse, position de quatrieme devant sur la jambe, troisieme etude), modelled 1882-85; cast 1919-21, bronze, The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

8 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer putting on her stocking, first study, previously known as third study {Dansuse mettant son bas, premiere etude autrefois appelee troisieme etude), modelled 1896-1911; cast 1919-37 or later, bronze, Purchased 1958 Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamald, Auckland
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04
http://collection.aucklandartgallery.govt.nz/collection/results.do?view=detail&db=object&id=2723
Title Dancer putting on her stocking (Femme Mettant Son Bas)
Artist Edgar Degas
Production Date 1896-1911
Medium bronze
Signature/Marks Gire Perdu 29/H
Size (hxw) 476mm
Classification Sculpture
Department International Art
Period / Style Impressionist/European
Credit Line Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, purchased 1956
Copyright Status No known copyright restrictions
Acquisition Method Purchase
Accession Date 1956
Accession No 1956/29

9 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer moving forward, arms raised (Danseuse s’avancant les bras leves, premiere etude) modelled c. 1882098; cast 1919-31, bronze, Gift of Hoseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://hirshhorn.si.edu/visit/collection_object.asp?key=32&subkey=5986
Edgar Degas
Dancer Moving Forward, Arms Raised, (CA. 1882-1898)/(CAST CA. 1919-1931) Bronze
13 3/4 x 6 7/8 x 6in. (35 x 17.5 x 15.1cm)
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Accession Number: 66.1291
curatorial info
Edgar Degas
* Bio: French, b. Paris, 1834 - 1917
Provenance
Galerie Hébrard, Paris
[unknown collection]
Peridot Gallery, New York, probably 1955 to 6 May 1958
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 6 May 1958-17 May 1966
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966

10 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Dancer at rest, hands on her hips, right leg forward, first study {Danseuse au repos, les mains sure les hanches, jambe droite en avant, premiere etude) modelled 1882-95; cast 1919-37 or later, bronze, Purchased 1955. Betrice Ethel Mallalieu Bequest, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://www.aucklandartgallery.govt.nz/research/digitalresources/docs/cat63.pdf
“15. DANCER AT REST, HANDS BEHIND HER BACK, RIGHT LEG FORWARD, c. 1882-95, Bronze, 17 5/8” Edition 41/Q (Rewald XXII, Signed Degas, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, This Bronze and No. 16, 17, 18 and 19 belong to the series of 74 figures executed in wax by Degas. Seventy-two of these waxes were cast in bronze by Degas’ founder, A.A. Hebrard, and first exhibted in Paris in 1921.”

11 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Little dancer aged fourteen (La petitte danseusse de quatorze ans) modelled 1880-81; cast 1920-21, bronze, gause ans satin, Funds given Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg,
Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://stlouis.art.museum/emuseum/code/emuseum.asp?style=Browse&currentrecord=1&page=search&profile=objects&searchdesc=degas&quicksearch=degas&newvalues=1&newstyle=single&newcurrentrecord=3
Edgar Degas
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
c.1880, cast c.1920
French, 1834–1917
bronze, gauze, and satin
M / 28
38 1/2 x 16 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (97.8 x 41.3 x 34.9 cm)
Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg
Accession Number: 135:1956
Place made: Paris, France
The model for this sculpture was Marie van Goethen, a young ballet student at the Paris Opéra. When the original version of this sculpture (made of wax, and now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC) was exhibited at the 1881 Impressionist exhibition, it was criticized for its unprecedented realism and was even considered ugly. In addition, many people found the mundane subject matter and unusual combination of materials-including real clothes-unsuitable for a work of art. It was the only sculpture exhibited by Degas in his lifetime.
Signed:
on base, on top surface, at back left, incised: Degas
on base, on top surface, at back left, stamped in metal: CIRE / PERDUE / A A HEBRARD [with "MLE" along the left margin of the stamp]
Provenance:
c.1920 -
A. A. Hébrard, Paris, France [1]
- 1957
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, USA [2]
1957 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co. [3]

12 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
The tub (Le tub) modelled 1886-89; cast 1919-30, bronze, Musee d’Orsay, Paris © RMN/Michele Bellot/Jean Schormans
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/notice.html?no_cache=1&nnumid=006407&cHash=ab92bcf896
Edgar Degas, Adrien-Aurélien Hébrard Le tub entre 1921 et 1931 statuette en bronze H. 0.225 ; L. 0.438 ; P. 0.458 musée d'Orsay, Paris, France ©photo musée d'Orsay / rmn
Auteurs
Degas, Edgar
Paris (France) 1834 - Paris (France) 1917
Exécutant
fondeur : Hébrard, Adrien-Aurélien
? 1865 - ? 1937
Titres
Le tub
Dates
entre 1921 et 1931
Description
statuette en bronze
Désignation
statuette
Matériaux et techniques
bronze , fonte à la cire perdue , métal , alliage , fonte (technique) , fonderie
H. 0.225 ; L. 0.438 ; P. 0.458 m.
Par Bartholomé

13 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Woman rubbing her back with a sponge, torso (Femme se frottart le dos avec une eponge, torse) modelled 1888-92; cast 1919-21, bronze, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966, Hirshhorn Museum of Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04

http://hirshhorn.si.edu
Edgar Degas
Woman Rubbing Back With A Sponge (Torso), (CA. 1888-1892)/(CAST 1919-1921) Bronze
17 x 10 1/2 x 7 in. (43.1 x 26.5 x 17.7 cm)
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Accession Number: 66.1304
curatorial info
Edgar Degas
* Bio: French, b. Paris, 1834 - 1917
Provenance
Galerie Hébrard, Paris (agents for the artist's Estate)
Walther Halvorsen, Paris (and London), February 1921-c.1926
Justin K. Thannhauser, Munich and New York, c.1926-[21 Dec. 1940]
Mr. and Mrs. Otto L. Spaeth, New York, [21 December 1940]-1963
Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York, 1963-8 April 1964
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 8 April 1964-17 May 1966
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966

14 of 14 Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917)
Woman washing her left leg, second study (Femme se lavant la jambe gauche, deuxieme etude) modelled c. 1883-86; cast 1920, bronze, ochre, reda dna light green patinas for the bather, dark green for the pot, H.O. Havermeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O. Havermeyer, 1929, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.nga.gov.au/Exhibition/DEGAS/Default.cfm?MNU=04