Grande Arabesque, Third Time (First Arabesque Penchée)
Exhibition History
Probably Edgar Degas, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, February 8–March 24, 1952, no. 140, as Danseres, naar rechtervoet kijkend.
Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, June 9–September 9, 2007, no. 15, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time (Grande arabesque, troisième temps).
Painters and Paper: Bloch Works on Paper, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 20, 2017–March 11, 2018, no cat.
From Farm to Table: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterworks on Paper, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 16, 2018–March 24, 2019, no cat.
Women in Paris, 1850–1900, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 28, 2019–October 5, 2020, no cat.
Encore Degas! Ballet, Movement, and Fashion, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, November 20, 2021–November 21, 2022, no cat.
Crowning Glory: Millinery in Paris, 1880–1905, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, December 10, 2022–December 3, 2023, no cat.
This bronze was cast from one of nearly two hundred wax figures that Edgar Degas created as studio props. Degas built up the body on a wire armature, leaving small pieces of wax unblended as he sculpted the figure’s overall form. This nude holds a pose known in ballet as a grand arabesque, which served as a test of a dancer’s strength and balance. Degas frequently incorporated the wax figures’ poses into images of dancers, bathers, and racehorses.
A Parisian foundry produced a limited edition run of these casts two years after Degas’s death.
Probably with Galerie Max Kaganovitch, Paris, by February 8, 1952 [1];
Probably purchased from Kaganovitch by Adolphe Adam (1894–1968) and Katherine (née Nalinska, 1897–1971) Juviler, New York and Palm Beach, by October 25, 1961 [2];
Purchased at their sale, Notable Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture: Bonnard, Braque, Buffet, Cézanne, Chagall, Degas, Dufy, Maillol, Matisse, Moore, Picasso, Renoir, Rouault, Soutine, Utrillo, and Vuillard; From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe A. Juviler, New York, and Palm Beach, Sold by Their Order, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, October 25, 1961, lot 9, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time, by Edgardo Acosta Gallery, Beverly Hills, 1961 [3];
Mrs. Philip D. Sang (née Elsie Olin, 1906–1997), Chicago, by May 15, 1984;
Purchased at her sale, Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, May 15, 1984, lot 14, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time, by Peggy Joan Amster (née Preuss, b. 1946), Tenafly, NJ, 1984–May 7, 1991;
Purchased at her sale, Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, Part I, Sotheby’s, New York, May 7, 1991, lot 1, through Susan L. Brody and Associates, Inc., New York, by Marion (née Helzberg, 1931–2013) and Henry (1922–2019) Bloch, Shawnee Mission, KS, 1991–June 15, 2015;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015.
NOTES:
[1] Russian-Jewish sculptor Max Kaganovitch (1891–1978) opened a gallery in Paris in 1935. Due to his Jewish heritage, during World War II he was stripped of his French citizenship and forced to cede his business to Charles-Auguste Girard (1884–1968). He and his family went into exile, returning to France after the war. Kaganovitch took legal action to reclaim control of his gallery and officially reopened in 1949. He probably acquired Grande Arabesque, Third Time during this post-war period because he was actively buying, selling, and exhibiting Degas’s bronzes during the 1950s. Kaganovitch lent thirty-seven Degas bronzes—probably including the Nelson-Atkins sculpture—to the retrospective Edgar Degas (Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, February 8–March 24, 1952) and twenty-five Degas bronzes to Edgar Degas: The Sculpture (Galerie Chalette, New York, October 3–29, 1955). Unfortunately, Kaganovitch’s stock books have not survived, though the Musée d’Orsay possesses some of his letters, press clippings, and exhibition photographs; see Fonds Kaganovitch, ODO 2007-3. None of these archival materials mention the Nelson-Atkins bronze.
[2] The Juvilers probably purchased Grande Arabesque, Third Time from Kaganovitch because the catalogue from their collection sale says, "From the Galerie Max Kaganovitch, Paris" in the provenance for lot 9, suggesting a direct transfer. See Notable Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture: Bonnard, Braque, Buffet, Cézanne, Chagall, Degas, Dufy, Maillol, Matisse, Moore, Picasso, Renoir, Rouault, Soutine, Utrillo, and Vuillard; From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe A. Juviler, New York, and Palm Beach, Sold by Their Order (New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, October 25, 1961), 5. The couple’s son, Michael Juviler (1936–2017), confirmed that his parents sometimes purchased artwork in France. He did not possess any records pertaining to their acquisitions, however. See email from Michael Juviler to MacKenzie Mallon, NAMA, May 22, 2015, NAMA curatorial files.
[3] For the purchaser, see email from Lucy Economakis, Sotheby’s, to Brigid M. Boyle, NAMA, September 18, 2023, NAMA curatorial files. Edgardo Acosta Gallery was owned and operated by husband-and-wife dealers Francesca (née Hunter, 1914–2005) and Edgardo (1913–1999) Acosta. It opened in 1957 and closed in 1979. The gallery’s ledgers are presumed lost. Letters to Acosta family descendants went unanswered.
John Rewald, ed., Degas: Works in Sculpture; A Complete Catalogue, trans. John Coleman and Noel Moulton (New York: Pantheon Books, 1944), no. XXXIX, pp. 24, 30–31, 94, illustration of another cast, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time and Grande Arabesque, troisième temps.
Probably Edgar Degas, exh. cat. (Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum, 1952), unpaginated, as Danseres, naar rechtervoet kijkend.
John Rewald, Degas Sculpture: The Complete Works, trans. John Coleman and Noel Moulton (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1956), no. 39, pp. 83, 149, 151, 164–65, illustration of another cast, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time.
Notable Modern Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture: Bonnard, Braque, Buffet, Cézanne, Chagall, Degas, Dufy, Maillol, Matisse, Moore, Picasso, Renoir, Rouault, Soutine, Utrillo, and Vuillard; From the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe A. Juviler, New York, and Palm Beach, Sold by Their Order (New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, October 25, 1961), 5, (repro.), as Grande Arabesque, Third Time.
Michèle Beaulieu, "Les sculptures de Degas: Essai de chronologie," La Revue du Louvre et des musées de France 19, no. 6 (1969): 374, 374n39.
Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino, L’Opera completa di Degas (Milan: Rizzoli, 1970), no. S8, p. 140, illustration of another cast, as Terzo tempo della "Grande Arabesque."
Charles Millard, The Sculpture of Edgar Degas (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), 24, 35, 106, illustration of the wax model, as Grand Arabesque, Third Time.
Impressionist and Modern Paintings and Sculpture (New York: Sotheby’s, May 15, 1984), unpaginated, (repro.), as Grande Arabesque, troisième temps.
Jean-René Gaborit and Jack Ligot, eds., Sculptures en cire de l'ancienne Egypte a l'art abstrait (Paris: Editions de la Réunion des muséees nationaux, 1987), 70, 226, 229–32, 460, illustration of the wax model, as Danseuse: Grande Arabesque, 3e temps, première étude.
Jean Sotherland Boggs, ed., Degas, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988), 586–87, illustration of the wax model and another cast, as First Arabesque Penchée.
John Rewald, Degas’s Complete Sculpture: Catalogue Raisonné, rev. ed. (San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1990), no. 39, pp. 116–17, 188–89, 201, 207, illustration of another cast, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time and Grande Arabesque, troisième temps.
Impressionist and Modern Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, Part I (New York: Sotheby’s, May 7, 1991), unpaginated, (repro.), as Grande Arabesque, troisième temps.
Sara Campbell, "A Catalogue of Degas’ Bronzes," Apollo 142, no. 402 (August 1995): 40, illustration of another cast, as Grand arabesque, third time.
Anne Pingeot, Degas: Sculptures (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 1991), 74–75, 156, 194, illustration of another cast, as Danseuse, grande arabesque, troisième temps.
Joseph S. Czestochowski and Anne Pingeot, Degas Sculptures: Catalogue Raisonné of the Bronzes, exh. cat. (Memphis: International Arts, 2002), no. 60, pp. 238–39, 285–86, illustration of another cast, as Grande Arabesque, Third Time (First Arabesque, Penchée).
Rebecca Dimling Cochran and Bobbie Leigh, "100 Top Collectors who have made a difference," Art and Antiques 28, no. 3 (March 2006): 90.
Bobbie Leigh, "Magnificent Obsession," Art and Antiques 28, no. 6 (June 2006): 65, as Grand Arabesque, third time.
Alice Thorson, "A ‘Final Countdown,’" Kansas City Star 126, no. 285 (June 29, 2006): B1.
"Inaugural Exhibitions Celebrate Kansas City," Member Magazine (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (Fall 2006): 3.
Alice Thorson, "A Tiny Renoir Began Impressive Obsession," Kansas City Star 127, no. 269 (June 3, 2007): E4.
"Lasting Impressions: A Tribute to Marion and Henry Bloch," Member Magazine (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (Fall 2007): 12.
Steve Paul, "Pretty Pictures: Marion and Henry Bloch’s collection of superb Impressionist masters," Panache 4, no. 3 (Fall 2007): 20.
Richard R. Brettell and Joachim Pissarro. Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, exh. cat. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2007), 12, 15, 86–89, 158, (repro.), Grande Arabesque, Third Time (Grande arabesque, troisième temps).
Sara Campbell et al., Degas in the Norton Simon Museum (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 365–68, 495, 497, 499, 547, illustration of the wax model, as Grande arabesque, third time (First arabesque penchée).
"A 75th Anniversary Celebrated with Gifts of 400 Works of Art," Art Tattler International (February 2010): http://arttattl.ipower.com/archivemagnificentgifts.html.
Alice Thorson, "Blochs add to Nelson treasures," Kansas City Star 130, no. 141 (February 5, 2010): A1, A8.
Carol Vogel, "O! Say, You Can Bid on a Johns," New York Times 159, no. 54,942 (February 5, 2010): C26.
Alice Thorson, "Gift will leave lasting impression," Kansas City Star 130, no. 143 (February 7, 2010): G1–G2.
Thomas M. Bloch, Many Happy Returns: The Story of Henry Bloch, America’s Tax Man (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2011), 174–75.
Diane Stafford, "Bloch Gift to Go for Nelson Upgrade," Kansas City Star 135, no. 203 (April 8, 2015): A8.
"Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Officially Accessions Bloch Impressionist Masterpieces," Artdaily.org (July 25, 2015): http://artdaily.com/news/80246/Nelson-Atkins-Museum-of-Art-officially-accessions-Bloch-Impressionist-masterpieces, as Grand Arabesque, Third Time.
Julie Paulais, "Le Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art reçoit des tableaux impressionnistes en échange de leurs répliques," Le Journal des arts (July 30, 2015): https://www.lejournaldesarts.fr/patrimoine/le-nelson-atkins-museum-art-recoit-des-tableaux-impressionnistes-en-echange-de-leurs.
Josh Niland, "The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Acquires a Renowned Collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist Art," architecturaldigest.com (July 31, 2015): https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/nelson-atkins-museum-accessions-bloch-art-collection.
Nancy Staab, "Van Gogh is a Go!" 435: Kansas City’s Magazine (September 2015): 76, as Grand Arabesque, Third Time.
"Nelson-Atkins to unveil renovated Bloch Galleries of European Art in winter 2017," Artdaily.org (July 20, 2016): http://artdaily.com/news/88852/Nelson-Atkins-to-unveil-renovated-Bloch-Galleries-of-European-Art-in-winter-2017-.
"Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art celebrates generosity of Henry Bloch with new acquisition," Artdaily.org (October 18, 2016): https://artdaily.cc/news/90923/Nelson-Atkins-Museum-of-Art-celebrates-generosity-of-Henry-Bloch-with-new-acquisition#.XnKATqhKiUk.
Catherine Futter et al., Bloch Galleries: Highlights from the Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016), 83, (repro.), as Grande Arabesque, Third Time (First Arabesque Penchée).
Kelly Crow, "Museum Rewards Donor with Fake Art to Hang at Home," Wall Street Journal (January 25, 2017): https://www.wsj.com/articles/museum-rewards-donor-with-fake-art-to-hang-at-home-1485370768.
David Frese, "Bloch savors paintings in redone galleries," Kansas City Star 137, no. 161 (February 25, 2017): 1A.
Albert Hecht, "Henry Bloch’s Masterpieces Collection to Go On Display at Nelson-Atkins Museum," Jewish Business News (February 26, 2017): http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2017/02/26/henry-bloch-masterpieces-collection/.
David Frese, "Inside the Bloch Galleries: An interactive experience," Kansas City Star 137, no. 169 (March 5, 2017): 5D, (repro.), as Grand Arabesque, Third Time (First Arabesque Penchée).
"Editorial: Thank you, Henry and Marion Bloch," Kansas City Star (March 7, 2017), http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article137040948.html [repr., in "Thank you, Henry and Marion Bloch," Kansas City Star 137, no. 172 (March 8, 2017): 16A].
Hampton Stevens, "(Not Actually) 12 Things To Do During The Big 12 Tournament," Flatland: KCPT’s Digital Magazine (March 9, 2017): http://www.flatlandkc.org/arts-culture/sports/not-actually-12-big-12-tournament/.
Laura Spencer, "The Nelson-Atkins’ Bloch Galleries Feature Old Masterworks and New Technology," KCUR (March 10, 2017): http://kcur.org/post/nelson-atkins-bloch-galleries-feature-old-masterworks-and-new-technology#stream/0.
Victoria Stapley-Brown, "Nelson-Atkins Museum’s new European art galleries come with a ‘love story,’" Art Newspaper (March 10, 2017): http://theartnewspaper.com/news/museums/nelson-atkins-museum-s-new-european-art-galleries-come-with-a-love-story/.
Harry Bellet, "Don du ciel pour le Musée Nelson-Atkins," Le Monde (March 13, 2017): http://www.lemonde.fr/arts/article/2017/03/13/don-du-ciel-pour-le-musee-nelson-atkins_5093543_1655012.html.
Menachem Wecker, "Jewish Philanthropist Establishes Kansas City as Cultural Mecca," The Forward (March 14, 2017): http://forward.com/culture/365264/jewish-philanthropist-establishes-kansas-city-as-cultural-mecca/ [repr., in Menachem Wecker, "Kansas City Collection Is A Chip Off the Old Bloch," Forward (March 17, 2017): 20-22]. Juliet Helmke, "The Bloch Collection Takes up Residence in Kansas City’s Nelson Atkins Museum," Blouin ArtInfo International (March 15, 2017): http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2005267/the-bloch-collection-takes-up-residence-in-kansas-citys.
Louise Nicholson, "How Kansas City got its magnificent museum," Apollo: The International Art Magazine (April 7, 2017): https://www.apollo-magazine.com/how-kansas-city-got-its-magnificent-museum/. Lilly Wei, "Julián Zugazagoitia: ‘Museums should generate interest and open a door that leads to further learning,’" Studio International (August 21, 2017): http://studiointernational.com/index.php/julian-zugazagoitia-director-nelson-atkins-museum-of-art-kansas-city-interview. Robert D. Hershey Jr., "Henry Bloch, H&R Block’s cofounder, dies at 96," Boston Globe (April 23, 2019): https://www3.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2019/04/23/henry-bloch-block-cofounder/?arc404=true. Megan McDonough, "Henry Bloch, whose H&R Block became world’s largest tax-services provider, dies at 96," Washington Post (April 23, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/henry-bloch-whose-handr-block-became-worlds-largest-tax-services-provider-dies-at-96/2019/04/23/19e95a90-65f8-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html. Claire Selvin, "Henry Wollman Bloch, Collector and Prominent Benefactor of Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Is Dead at 96," ArtNews (April 23, 2019): http://www.artnews.com/2019/04/23/henry-bloch-dead-96/.
Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, dies at 96," Kansas City Star 139, no. 219 (April 24, 2019): 1A. "Henry Wollman Bloch (1922–2019)," Artforum (April 24, 2019): https://www.artforum.com/news/henry-wollman-bloch-1922-2019-79547. Robert D. Hershey Jr., "Henry W. Bloch, Tax-Preparation Pioneer (and Pitchman), Is Dead at 96," New York Times 168, no. 58,307 (April 24, 2019): A.20. Frank Morris, "Henry Bloch, Co-Founder Of H&R Block, Dies At 96," NPR (April 24, 2019): https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716641448/henry-bloch-co-founder-of-h-r-block-dies-at-96. Ignacio Villarreal, "Nelson-Atkins mourns loss of Henry Bloch," ArtDaily.org (April 24, 2019): http://artdaily.com/news/113035/Nelson-Atkins-mourns-loss-of-Henry-Bloch#.XMB76qR7laQ. Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "H&R Block co-founder, philanthropist Bloch dies," Cass County Democrat Missourian 140, no. 29 (April 26, 2019): 1A. Eric Adler and Joyce Smith, "KC businessman and philanthropist Henry Bloch dies," Lee’s Summit Journal 132, no. 79 (April 26, 2019): 1A. Luke Nozicka, "Family and friends remember Henry Bloch of H&R Block," Kansas City Star 139, no. 225 (April 30, 2019): 4A [repr., in Luke Nozicka, "Family and friends remember Henry Bloch of H&R Block," Kansas City Star 139, no. 228 (May 3, 2019): 3A]. Eric Adler, "Sold for $3.25 million, Bloch’s home in Mission Hills may be torn down," Kansas City Star 141, no. 90 (December 16, 2020): 2A. Kristie C. Wolferman, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A History (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2020), 345.
Brigid M. Boyle, “Degas, Grande Arabesque, Third
Time (First Arabesque Penchée),” catalogue entry in French
Paintings and Pastels, 1600–1945: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/78973.5.902.5407.
![Seated Nude (Study for the “Legend of Giotto” [unrealized work])](/internal/media/dispatcher/35960/thumbnail)
