A Cotton Office in New Orleans
Encyclopedia
A Cotton Office in New Orleans is an 1873 oil painting by Edgar Degas
. In it, Degas depicts the moment when his uncle Michel Musson's cotton
brokerage business went bankrupt in an economic crash, according to Michael McMahon of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. The firm was swamped by the postwar growth of the much larger Cotton Exchange
. In the painting, Musson is seen examining raw cotton for its quality while Degas' brother Rene reads The Daily Picayune. It carried the bankruptcy news. Another brother, Achille, rests against a window wall at left while others, including Musson's partners, go about their business.
A Cotton Office in New Orleans is the first painting by Degas to be purchased by a museum, and the first by an Impressionist
. Degas' sale of the piece marks a turning point in his career as he moved from being a struggling unrecognized artist to a recognized and financially stable artist, according to Marilyn Brown in her book Degas and the Business of Art: A Cotton Office in New Orleans.
Degas traveled from Europe
to New Orleans in late 1872 with his brother, René, to visit his mother's brother, Michael Musson. After the American Civil War
, René had joined his uncle's cotton factor firm in New Orleans. Degas was to return to Europe in January 1873, but when his return trip was delayed, he decided to paint the cotton business surrounding him.
Degas crafted his work with the intent of selling it to a British
textile
manufacturer. But a drop in stock prices worldwide and declines in the cotton and art markets ended his hopes for that specific sale. Degas then exhibited A Cotton Office in New Orleans in the second Impressionist show in Paris in 1876. Degas finally sold the painting in 1878 to the newly founded Musee des Beaux-Arts
in Pau, France.
The painting is sometimes mistakenly referred to as The Cotton Exchange at New Orleans.
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
. In it, Degas depicts the moment when his uncle Michel Musson's cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
brokerage business went bankrupt in an economic crash, according to Michael McMahon of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
. The firm was swamped by the postwar growth of the much larger Cotton Exchange
New Orleans Cotton Exchange
The New Orleans Cotton Exchange was established in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1871 as a centralized forum for the trade of cotton. It operated in New Orleans until closing in 1964...
. In the painting, Musson is seen examining raw cotton for its quality while Degas' brother Rene reads The Daily Picayune. It carried the bankruptcy news. Another brother, Achille, rests against a window wall at left while others, including Musson's partners, go about their business.
A Cotton Office in New Orleans is the first painting by Degas to be purchased by a museum, and the first by an Impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. Degas' sale of the piece marks a turning point in his career as he moved from being a struggling unrecognized artist to a recognized and financially stable artist, according to Marilyn Brown in her book Degas and the Business of Art: A Cotton Office in New Orleans.
Degas traveled from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to New Orleans in late 1872 with his brother, René, to visit his mother's brother, Michael Musson. After the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, René had joined his uncle's cotton factor firm in New Orleans. Degas was to return to Europe in January 1873, but when his return trip was delayed, he decided to paint the cotton business surrounding him.
Degas crafted his work with the intent of selling it to a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturer. But a drop in stock prices worldwide and declines in the cotton and art markets ended his hopes for that specific sale. Degas then exhibited A Cotton Office in New Orleans in the second Impressionist show in Paris in 1876. Degas finally sold the painting in 1878 to the newly founded Musee des Beaux-Arts
Musée des Beaux-Arts
"Musée des Beaux Arts" is the title of a poem by W. H. Auden from 1938. The poem's title derives from the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels which contains the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, thought until recently to be by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, though still...
in Pau, France.
The painting is sometimes mistakenly referred to as The Cotton Exchange at New Orleans.
Sources
- Brown, Marilyn R.; (1994). Degas and the Business of Art: A Cotton Office in New Orleans. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-00944-6 Pg. 4.