Edgar Degas
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
Edgar Degas House. This house was bequeathed to the artist and his sister by their maternal uncle Michael Musson. The property was at one time held by Wm. Kenner. Kenner was in New Orleans to assist Wm.C.C. Claiborne in the transfer of New Orleans and Louisiana purchase from French to American Rule. Degas sold the house in 1866. Designated a National Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1978.
The Story
The French Impressionist Edgar Degas had deep New Orleans roots through his mother's Creole family, the Mussons, and this house connects him to that heritage. The property passed through prominent local hands, including a figure tied to the 1803 transfer of Louisiana from France to the United States. Degas's ownership ended when the house was sold in 1866, and it was later honored as a National Landmark in 1978.
Why it matters
The house is one of the few surviving links between a major European painter and 19th-century New Orleans, joining the city's Creole society to the history of Western art.
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Related people
- · Edgar Degas
- · Michael Musson
- · William Kenner
- · William C.C. Claiborne
Themes & tags
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