Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of Estelle Balfour
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Estelle Musson Balfour (1843-1909), the artist's cousin from New Orleans, visited France in 1863-65. She was in mourning for her husband, who had been killed at the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi, while fighting on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War. At the time that this portrait was painted, Mrs. Balfour was going blind. Degas, too, would eventually lose his sight, and this painting explores the experience of seeing those who cannot see.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Mary Cassatt, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, May 7, 1903, by purchase [together with Monet's Springtime, G. A. Lucas account Book, ms.]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2014 | Degas/Cassatt. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 1999-2000 | Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. |
| 1999 | Degas and New Orleans: A French Impressionist in America. New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Ordrupgaard, Charlottenlund. |
| 1998 | Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979 | A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, 1860-1909. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1962 | Manet, Degas, Morisot and Cassatt. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1960 | Degas. Wildenstein & Company, New York. |
| 1958 | An Exhibition of Works by Edgar Hilaire Germain Degas, 1934-1917. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles. |
| 1955 | Degas. Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio. |
| 1951 | From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1947 | Works by Edgar Degas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/1/1942 | Treatment | cleaned; mounted; loss compensation; other |
| 10/22/1951 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation |
| 3/21/1960 | Treatment | loss compensation; re-housed |
| 4/19/1965 | Treatment | loss compensation |
| 6/1/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 6/1/1971 | Treatment | other |
| 1/11/1982 | Examination | examined for condition. |
| 6/13/1990 | Treatment | repaired; loss compensation; cleaned |
| 12/28/1998 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 1/1/1999 | Treatment | mounted; cleaned; loss compensation; re-housed; other |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 10 5/8 × W: 8 5/8 in. (26.99 × 21.91 cm); Framed H: 16 3/4 x W: 15 x D: 1 3/4 in. (42.5 x 38.1 x 4.4 cm); Framed with buildup H: 16 5/8 × W: 15 × D: 3 in. (42.23 × 38.1 × 7.62 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.179