A new, exclusive exhibit showcasing works by impressionist painter Edgar Degas is open at the St. Louis Art Museum. The exhibit features several works that have never been displayed in the United States.
The featured paintings and pastels reflect Degas’ perception of the Parisian Millinery Trade of the late 1800’s, when there was a booming demand for exquisite head-wear. Many paintings portray young women who were milliners, or hat makers. Also part of the exhibit are several hats carefully preserved in glass cases.
The show, organized by the St. Louis Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, is called “Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade.”
Simon Kelly, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, along with others at the museum, worked diligently to pull together Degas’ collection of work pertaining to hats. It’s the first time a museum has shown this body of work or focused so intently on Degas’ fascination with hats.
“There have been a number of shows on Degas’ imagery of dances, of the race track, of the nude, but never has there been a show on the theme of millinery, or hat-making in his works,” Kelly said. “So this is the first show to do that and we worked hard to reunite as many paintings and pastels on millinery subjects by Degas as possible.”
Kelly said that while much of Degas’ work was influenced by his interest in fashion, much of it was also a reflection of his fascination with modern life in Paris, especially as it pertained to women. The majority of his art features women, who made up most of the milliner population.
The largest painting in the exhibition is “The Millinery Shop,” which is on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago. It features a young woman in a shop carefully examining a hat. Kelly explained that this may be the most important painting on display, as it provides the most insight into Degas’ artistic process.
“The seated figure in the composition was a customer. She was a customer who was trying on a hat and she was wearing a blue dress, she was wearing a hat, she was wearing a neck scarf,” Kelly said. “But as Degas evolved his composition, he transformed her identity from a customer to a milliner and that’s what you see in the final painting - that she is a milliner who is making a hat.”
The exhibition is open through May 7th in the East Building of the Saint Louis Art Museum. Information about tickets, tours, and more can be found on the St. Louis Art Museum website.
A Piece of Hat History in St. Louis
Since the end of the millinery trade, the hat industry and the culture surrounding hats have significantly changed. Lance Levine has witnessed some of this history first hand.
Levine is the owner Levine Hat Company, a 100-plus year old family business in St. Louis located at the corner of Washington Ave. and N. 14th St. At one time, the company produced its own hats on a large scale.
“When the business started out a hundred years ago, we did it all. We made the hats in the morning, put them out on the floor, and by the end of the day the floor would be empty,” Levine said.
In the back of the store, solid, wooden workbenches line the walls. On top and spread across them, are a wide variety of tools and machines including brim cutters, band tacking machines and hat flanges.
Even though Levine Hat Company has stopped producing hats on a large scale, workers there still use the tools for repairing and customizing hats, and occasionally for making a custom designed hat.
Levine said his company attracts a diverse clientele, though his typical customers are well-dressed and looking for a new addition to their outfits. But because hats are so personal, Levine said that the hat someone chooses is more than a fashion statement.
“Most of all, it says you’re an individual.” Levine said. “You will choose a hat that goes with your personal style. And just wearing a hat makes a statement in and of itself.”
Of course, like any accessory, people tend to have particular tastes when it comes to hats. But unlike other accessories, Levine said the variance of hat styles has remained fairly constant.
“The one thing about hats over the past 100 or 200 years, the styles have barely changed at all. It’s really an amazing thing,” Levine said. “In fashion, we’re wearing garments that are completely different than what they wore 100 or 200 years ago. And hats, ya know, it’s just the one item in fashion that just stays the same. It’s really amazing.”
For more information about Levine Hat Company, check out their website.
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