Degas, impressionism, and the Paris millinery trade
By: Simon Kelly and Esther Bell ; with Susan Hiner and [5 others]
Contributors: Legion of Honor (San Francisco, Calif.); St. Louis Art Museum
Publisher: Prestel
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
ISBN-13: 9783791356211; 9783791367477
Subjects: Hats in art; Exhibitions; Millinery; Hats; Impressionism (Art); Themes, motives
Description: Though best known for his depictions of dancers and bathers, Edgar Degas repeatedly returned to the subject of millinery over the course of three decades. In masterpieces such as The Millinery Shop (1879-86) and The Milliners (ca. 1898), he captured scenes of milliners fashioning and women wearing elaborakte, colorful hats. Featuring sumptuous paintings, pastels, and preparatory drawings by Degas, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir, and Toulouse-Lautrec, among others, this generously illustrated book surveys the millinery industry of 19th-century Paris. Peppered throughout with photographs, posters, and prints of French hats, this book includes essays that explore Degas's particular interest in the millinery trade; the tension between modern fashion and reverence for history and the grand art-historical tradition; a chronicle of Parisian milliners from Caroline Reboux to Coco Chanel; and examples of how the millinery trade is depicted in literature. Brilliantly linking together the worlds of industry, art, and fashion, this groundbreaking book examines the fundamental role of hats and hat-makers in 19th-century culture.
Notes: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Saint Louis Art Museum, February 12-May 7, 2017; and Legion of Honor, San Francisco, June 24-September 24, 2017.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: "Silk and feather, satin and straw" : Degas, women, and the Paris millinery trade / Simon Kelly; title: The milliners of Paris, 1870-1910 / Françoise Tétart-Vittu; title: The modiste's palette and the artist's hat / Susan Hiner; title: Degas, millinery, and the grand tradition / Esther Bell; title: Catalogue; title: Chronology / Abigail Yoder.