Degas in New Orleans A Creole Sojourn

Synopsis:
The scandals and tragedies that devastated the lost Civil War South impacted the life of Edgar Degas in ways left unexplored until now. Take an intimate look into the lives of Degas and his maternal Creole family, the Mussons, during Edgar's five-month sojourn into the Reconstruction New Orleans of 1872. Pull back the curtains that carefully guard the Musson women and discover the loves and losses of a family in crisis.

The film chronicles the life and legacy of the painter in New Orleans (The New Orleans Collection). The Collection was painted in the Degas House where his bedroom was also his studio. Due to his failing eyesight and the brightness of the Louisiana sun, the entire New Orleans Collection was painted in the Degas House.

This is the definitive turning point of Degas life, markedly changing his art and his intimate relations. From this time of turmoil and intrigue springs the Impressionist Movement. Degas, an unquestioned Founder, pioneers an artistic freedom that changes Art and the World forever.

Production:

• Filmed on Location at Degas House, 2306 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, by WYES Television, Public Broadcasting

• Produced by the Edgar Degas Foundation

• Funding Provided in Part by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

• Producer, Stephen Tyler

• Director & Editor, David M. Jones

• Executive Producer, David Villarrubia

• Length, 29.20 Minutes

• Format, VHS

Awards:

• Houston WorldFest Film Festival, SILVER AWARD, 2000

• WorldFest Flagstaff Film Festival, GOLD AWARD, 1999

• American Library Association, "Booklist" 1999 Editor s Choice

Exhibits:

• The Degas Experience in conjunction with Degas and New Orleans, A French Impressionist in America, New Orleans Museum of Art

• Degas and New Orleans, Ordrupgaard Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, Introductory Documentary

Reviews:

• Video Librarian, January  February 2000, 3½ of 4 stars
  "This beautiful program provides insight into the artist, his work, and the little known sojourn that resulted in the flowering of the Impressionist movement. Highly recommended."

• TV Focus, April 25  May 1, 1999, 3 ½ of 4 stars
  "The television prerequisite, Degas in New Orleans: A Creole Sojourn, will not only prep you for your museum visit, but should also wet local appetites with its tantalizing sampling of the visual riches soon to come."

Featuring:

• Jim Byrnes, Director Emeritus, New Orleans Museum of Art

• John Bullard, Director, New Orleans Museum of Art

• Dr. Gail Feigenbaum, Curator of Paintings, New Orleans Museum of Art
  Curator, Degas and New Orleans, A French Impressionist in America

• Dr. Marilyn Brown, Professor of Art History, Tulane University;Author, Degas and the Business of Art, A Cotton Office in New Orleans

• Dr. Christopher Benfey, Associate Professor of English, Mt. Holyoke College; Author, Degas In New Orleans, Encounters in the Creole World of Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable

• Sally Reeves, Custodian, New Orleans Notarial Archives; Historian; Author, New Orleans Architectural Series, The Esplanade Ridge

• Mary Louise Christovich, Historian; Author, New Orleans Architectural Series, the Esplanade Ridge

• Dora Miller, Great Granddaughter of Estelle Musson Degas

• George Schmidt, New Orleans Artist and Musician
  

All proceeds from the sale of the Film
benefit The Edgar Degas Foundation.
Click to purchase film

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