The largest of Degas’ famed horse sculptures found a permanent home at the National Museum of Art in Cardiff, Whales. The sculpture is one of fifteen horse sculptures Degas created, and it’s expected to draw even more visitors to Whales’ already booming national museums. Last year, a number of recent collections helped the nation of Whales see some of their highest museum attendance numbers, and with Degas’ help, this year is expected to be better than last.
Degas only exhibited sculptures once during his career, as the vast majority of his exhibits displayed his paintings. It wasn’t until after his death that 150 wax sculptures were found in his studio. Of the wax pieces, 74 were in good enough condition to cast in bronze. Among those cast were a collection of galloping horses or differing sizes and weights.
The galloping horse bronze sculptures were based off stop motion photographs of horses at the racetrack, a passion of the Degas. The piece was donated to Cardiff by British artist, Lucian Freud.
