- Degas at the Opéra
- July 20 – October 12, 2020
- West Building, Ground Floor, Outer Tier

Edgar Degas,
This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.
An exuberant display of fecund imagination and keen observation, Edgar Degas’s renowned images of the Paris Opéra are among the most sophisticated and visually compelling works he ever created. Celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Opéra’s founding, Degas at the Opéra will present approximately 100 of the artist’s best-known and beloved works in a range of media, including paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and sculpture. It will be accompanied by a fully illustrated exhibition catalog.
The Opéra also fueled some of Degas’s most daring technical innovations, including his first monotype,
The exhibition is curated by Degas expert Henri Loyrette with Kimberly A. Jones, curator of 19th-century French paintings, National Gallery of Art; Leïla Jarbouai, graphic arts curator, Musée d'Orsay; and Marine Kisiel, conseillère scientifique, Institut national d'histoire de l'art; former curator, Musée d'Orsay.
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Musées d'Orsay et de l'Orangerie, Paris
Sponsors: BP America is proud to be a sponsor of this Washington, DC, exhibition as part of its support for the arts in the United States. Adrienne Arsht also kindly provided a leadership gift for this exhibition. Additional funding is provided by Jacqueline B. Mars and The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Hashtag: #DegasOpera
Other venues: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, September 24, 2019–January 19, 2020
Degas at the Opéra Virtual Tour
Exhibition Feature
Degas's Opéra
- Degas, Edgar
- French
- , 1834 - 1917
Gallery Talks
Attend staff led gallery talks.
See upcoming talks and lectures related to this exhibition.
Watch here
Lecture
Introduction to the Exhibition: Degas at the Opéra
March 8, 2:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium
Concert
Agora Dance with Sound Impact (canceled)
Backstage at the Opera
March 15, 3:30 p.m.
West Building, West Garden Court
Film
The Paris Opéra (original title L'Opéra)
April 4, 11:00 a.m.
April 25, 2:00 p.m.
May 23, 24, 2:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium
Audio Tour
Degas at the Opéra
Feature
Little Dancer Aged Fourteen
Feature
Modeling Movement: Degas’s Dancers
Press Release
Facture: Conservation, Science, Art History, Volume 3: Degas
- Degas, Edgar, executed in collaboration with Vicomte Lepic
- Edgar Degas
- Vicomte Ludovic Lepic
- The Ballet Master
- c. 1876
- Black Opera as Architecture: A Conversation with Kimberly Drew, Alicia Hall Moran, and Imani Uzuri
- Audio, Released: June 30, 2020, (68:58 minutes)
- Black Opera as Architecture: A Conversation with Kimberly Drew, Alicia Hall Moran, and Imani Uzuri
- Video, Released: June 30, 2020, (69:18 minutes)
- Introduction to the Exhibition—Degas at the Opéra
- Audio, Released: March 24, 2020, (63:57 minutes)
- Degas at the Opéra: Introductory Slide Overview
- Audio, Released: March 24, 2020, (43:31 minutes)
- Degas at the Opéra: Introductory Slide Overview
- Video, Released: March 24, 2020, (43:29 minutes)
- Introduction to the Exhibition—Degas at the Opéra
- Video, Released: March 24, 2020, (63:57 minutes)
- Press Event: Degas at the Opéra
- Audio, Released: February 25, 2020, (95:25 minutes)
- Reflections on the Collection: The Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professors at the National Gallery of Art: Jacqueline Lichtenstein on Edgar Degas, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen
- Audio, Released: November 28, 2017, (5:07 minutes)
- Reflections on the Collection: The Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professors at the National Gallery of Art: Jacqueline Lichtenstein on Edgar Degas, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen
- Video, Released: November 28, 2017, (5:07 minutes)