Art Blog

Because of the controversy, The New Orleans Museum of Art has decided to postpone an exhibition of 74 controversial bronze sculptures cast from "recently discovered" plasters said to have been made by Edgar Degas. The show was scheduled to open at the museum in November 2011. Asked the reason for the postponement, Ms. Taylor said, "The controversy has influenced my decision. I would like to review it more carefully."

$37 million & $20 Million Appraisals, from Stewart Waltzer & Alex Rosenberg According to an August 2011 Art News Article "Stewart Waltzer appraised the set of 74 bronzes at $37.25 million. The most valuable sculpture in the set, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, is worth $15 million, Waltzer wrote in his appraisal."

The Stewart Waltzer Appraisal stipulates
"This appraisal is accompanied by various letters and [a]ttestations from Leonardo Benatov, owner of the Valsuani foundry, stating explicitly that the plasters, which serve as the basis for the 74 Edgar Degas bronze sculptures from the 1998 Valsuani Edition marked ‘Set VII/XI,' are authentic," Waltzer wrote in his 2010 appraisal. "Therefore, these works have been appraised as authentic works by Edgar Degas. This appraiser and this appraisal [do] not warrant the authenticity of the 74 Edgar Degas bronze sculptures from the 1998 Valsuani Edition marked ‘Set VII/IX."

For the rest of this article please go to The Fine Art Blog