Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 6 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
21009
label
Portrait of Estelle Balfour
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
21009
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Portrait of Estelle Balfour
description
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.
provenance
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.
date
1863-1865
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
oil paintings (visual works)
portraits
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
27
height
21.9
dimensionsRaw
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)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Signature] In light brown at lower right: Degas
med
oil on canvas
creator_ids
6984
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
773
2159
2482
2297
2483
2484
2485
2486
484
2580
2749
3228
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
152c9b8aaf265c86
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
dd07bba0d74c8c66
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
01dfa193da815069
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
ce08c41aa156f371
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
e73ceb786728363b
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
1184ec0bb1c5bc66
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no