Scarsdale's Linda Wolk-Simon Curates Degas Show at the Morgan Library and Museum

Scarsdale's Linda Wolk-Simon, head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library and Museum, has a new show opening at the museum this week. Titled, "Degas, Miss La La, and the Cirque Fernando," the show tells the story behind Degas' painting Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, that immortalizes the famous aerialist known as Miss La La.

The painting has a rich history. For successive evenings in January 1879 Edgar Degas attended performances at the Cirque Fernando and was riveted by Miss La La's breathtaking act where she was hoisted to the circus's seventy-foot ceiling by a rope clenched between her teeth. The show brings together Degas' painting, on loan from the National Gallery in London, with preparatory drawings, pastels, an oil sketch and a print by the artist. Also included in the show are works by other artists of the Cirque Fernando and books, lithographs, photos, prints and circus programs to provide a more complete picture of Miss La La and her troupe.

"Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando remains as arresting today as it was when the artist created it over a hundred years ago," said William M. Griswold, director of The Morgan Library & Museum. "The subject is unique among Degas's paintings. This exhibition tells the story of the genesis of the work and its captivating theme with a fascinating display of drawings and prints, as well as literary, historical, and photographic material of the period."

The show is on from February 15 through May 12, 2013 at the The Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street, New York, N.Y. Learn more at: www.themorgan.org.

Wolk-Simon will also give a class about Degas and the aerialist at the Scarsdale Adult School on Monday March 11 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. She'll share what she has learned about Miss La La, the circus and its patrons and the secrets hidden in this enigmatic work. To sign up, visit www.scarsdaleadultschool.org.