During his talk, he referenced a lineage that runs from Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s immediacy with pastels to Edgar Degas’ vibrant use of color. His work still studies, absorbs and reinvents.

This absorbing, heartfelt work uncovers the story of the real dancer behind Degas’s now-iconic sculpture, and the struggles of late nineteenth-century Parisian life. She is famous throughout the ...