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The most expensive Degas ever sold

The most expensive Degas ever sold is Petite danseuse de quatorze ans: $41.6 million at Christie's New York in 2022. Famous works such as L'Absinthe, The Star and The Bellelli Family are in public collections, so they are not for sale and have no price.

Lived
1834–1917
From
French
Movement
Impressionism
Worked in
Paris
Portrait of Edgar Degas
Degas's record$41.6MPetite danseuse de quatorze ans · 2022

Degas's famous works and their prices

  • The Dance Class by Edgar DegasThe Dance Class1874
  • L'Absinthe by Edgar DegasL'Absinthe1876 · Musée d'Orsay, ParisNot for sale
  • The Star by Edgar DegasThe Star1878 · Musée d'Orsay, ParisNot for sale
  • The Rehearsal by Edgar DegasThe Rehearsal1874
  • Blue Dancers by Edgar DegasBlue Dancers1897
  • Woman Combing Her Hair by Edgar DegasWoman Combing Her Hair1885
  • At the Races by Edgar DegasAt the Races1877
  • Dancers at the Barre by Edgar DegasDancers at the Barre1888
  • The Bellelli Family by Edgar DegasThe Bellelli Family1858–1867 · Musée d'Orsay, ParisNot for sale
  • Young Spartans Exercising by Edgar DegasYoung Spartans Exercisingc. 1860 · National Gallery, LondonNot for sale
  • The Dance Foyer at the Opera on the rue Le Peletier by Edgar DegasThe Dance Foyer at the Opera on the rue Le Peletier1872 · Musée d'Orsay, ParisNot for sale
  • A Cotton Office in New Orleans by Edgar DegasA Cotton Office in New Orleans1873 · Musée des Beaux-Arts de PauNot for sale
  • The Orchestra at the Opera by Edgar DegasThe Orchestra at the Operac. 1870 · Musée d'Orsay, ParisNot for sale
  • Café-Concert at Les Ambassadeurs by Edgar DegasCafé-Concert at Les Ambassadeurs1877
  • Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando by Edgar DegasMiss La La at the Cirque Fernando1879 · National Gallery, LondonNot for sale
  • The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancermodeled c. 1880One copy sold $41.6M, 2022
  • The Tub by Edgar DegasThe Tub1886
  • Combing the Hair (La Coiffure) by Edgar DegasCombing the Hair (La Coiffure)c. 1896
  • After the Bath, Woman Drying Herself by Edgar DegasAfter the Bath, Woman Drying Herselfc. 1890–1895
  • Dancers, Pink and Green by Edgar DegasDancers, Pink and Greenc. 1890

“Not for sale” means a public collection holds the work. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Degas next to other artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research.

  1. Caillebotte$53MJeune homme à sa fenêtre · 2021
  2. Raphael$47.9MHead of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration · 2012
  3. Turner$47.4MRome, from Mount Aventine · 2014
  4. Rousseau$43.5MLes Flamants · 2023
  5. Degas$41.6MPetite danseuse de quatorze ans · 2022
  6. Constable$35.2MThe Lock · 2012
  7. Pissarro$32.1MLe Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps · 2014
  8. Vermeer$30.1MA Young Woman Seated at the Virginals · 2004
  9. Michelangelo$27.2MStudy for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl · 2026

Bars are to scale within this list. Source for Degas's record: countrylife.co.uk.

About Edgar Degas

French Impressionist best known for his restless studies of ballet dancers, racehorses and women at work. Though he exhibited with the Impressionists he called himself a Realist, prizing draughtsmanship and working increasingly in pastel as his eyesight failed. His off-centre, snapshot-like compositions were shaped by photography and Japanese prints. He died in Paris in 1917.

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Questions

What is the most expensive Degas ever sold?

Petite danseuse de quatorze ans, which sold for $41.6 million at Christie's New York in 2022. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

How much is a Degas painting worth?

It depends on the work. The highest documented sale is $41.6 million for Petite danseuse de quatorze ans. Other documented sales: The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer (one copy), $41.6 million (2022). Works in public collections are not for sale.

Where can I see Degas's paintings?

Among the works here: the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, the National Gallery, London and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau.

Who was Edgar Degas?

Edgar Degas (1834–1917). French Impressionist best known for his restless studies of ballet dancers, racehorses and women at work. Though he exhibited with the Impressionists he called himself a Realist, prizing draughtsmanship and working increasingly in pastel as his eyesight failed. His off-centre, snapshot-like compositions were shaped by photography and Japanese prints. He died in Paris in 1917.

Other artists