LONDON.- The National Gallery has acquired Ballet Dancers by Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas (1834–1917) – one of the Gallery’s new Bicentenary acquisitions announced to coincide with the opening of CC Land: The Wonder of Art, the biggest reconfiguration of the National Gallery’s collection, and of the newly transformed Sainsbury Wing on 10 May 2025.


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The pastel by Degas was acquired through the Government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme (under a hybrid agreement*) from the estate of Mrs Ann Marks and allocated to the National Gallery, in negotiations brokered by Christie’s.

The picture, which can be seen in Room 42, was bought with the support of the National Gallery Trust, 2025. The acceptance of the painting settled £7.8 million in tax and the National Gallery, to whom it has been permanently allocated, has made good the difference with a contribution of £1.5 million pounds.

Depicting five dancers dressed in vibrant orange and turquoise tutus assembling off-stage after a demanding performance, 'Ballet Dancers' is one of five pastels by Degas showing this composition, none of them identical. The artist made numerous studies of individual dancers, then combined them into group sequences.

Ballet dancers were an enduring inspiration for the artist who throughout his long career produced multiple studies, pastels and oil paintings of dancers rehearsing, performing and resting. The dancer, alone or in groups, provided the artist with unlimited opportunity to study the female figure, drapery and lighting effects.

This picture shows the complex pastel technique favoured by Degas during the 1880s, layering, blending and smudging the tones to create the effect of rich, pulsating colour. The scene’s apparent naturalism belies careful composition. Sharp stabs of pure pastel bring out rich highlights.

This new acquisition complements the National Gallery’s rich holdings of Degas’s work including another of his studies of ballet dancers, an oil on canvas, from about 1890‒1900.

'Ballet Dancers' is one of a group of new acquisitions. The others are A View of the Sky from a Prison Window by Carl Gustav Carus (1823) and A Banquet Still Life by Floris van Dijck (1622).

These follow recent announcements of other acquisitions for the Gallery’s Bicentenary - King David by Guercino (also through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, though not a hybrid), the early 16th-century Netherlandish or French altarpiece The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret and the new commission for the Gallery’s Contextual Collection Mud Sun by Sir Richard Long.

These works are all on display together with those NG200 acquisitions announced last year: Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s After the Audience, Poussin’s Eucharist (also an Acceptance in Lieu acquisition with a hybrid arrangement) and Eva Gonzalès’s The Full-length Mirror.

Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, says: ‘I am delighted that the National Gallery has acquired this important pastel by Degas for its Bicentenary, greatly enriching our collection of this artist’s work. I am grateful to the estate of Mrs Ann Marks, Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant, Arts Council England as administrators of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, and Christie's for making the acquisition of this beautiful pastel possible.’

Arts Minister, Sir Chris Bryant says: ‘Edgar Degas played a leading role in the Impressionist art movement and was well known for his depictions of ballet dancers. Thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, the acquisition will allow visitors to the National Gallery to gain a better understanding of Degas's breathtaking work, improving this significant collection detailing vibrant scenes of dancers and showcasing his talent working with pastel and oil paintings.’

Michael Clarke CBE, Chair of the Acceptance in Lieu Panel, says: ’This wonderful pastel of Ballet Dancers demonstrates Degas’s mastery of this medium. I am delighted the National Gallery, with the aid of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, has been able to acquire this outstanding example of his art in this technique. It is a marvellous addition to the Gallery’s small but exceptional collection of pastels that includes Jean-Étienne Liotard’s masterpiece The Lavergne Family Breakfast (1754), also recently acquired through the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme. Further proof, if needed, of the crucial importance of the scheme and its contribution to the growth of our national collections.’



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