We asked Mathis Art Gallery and UWM Art Collection Staff to share one of their favorite pieces from the collection. Here’s the pick by Academic Curator Leigh Mahlik:

Edgar Degas
Dancer, ca. 1880
Pastel and Charcoal on Paper
UWM Art Collection, Bequest of Blanche and Henry Rosenberg 1974.001.020

While neither as elaborate nor as colorful as many of his other pastel drawings, the UWMAC’s Dancer attributed to Edgar Degas from around 1880 is a lovely drawing that I enjoy sharing with visitors to the collection. Not only do I mention it as a prime Impressionist piece and a stellar example of artistic process, I also tell visitors about the back of the drawing, which is not visible due to its frame, where there are different colored pastel smudge marks – possibly remnants of it being in a stack of sketches in the artist’s studio.

Stay tuned for more Staff Picks to come!