Glens Falls , NY – The Hyde Collection’s summer 2009 exhibition, Degas & Music, marks the first time The Hyde Collection will host an exhibition of the works of Edgar Degas. The exhibition is also an art-world first as no other display of Degas’ work has exclusively focused on the artist’s fascination with music.  Approximately thirty-five paintings and other works from major national and international collections, as well as The Hyde’s own holdings, will be included in the Degas & Music exhibition. On exhibit 12 July through 18 October, 2009.

The Museum has received loan confirmations of Degas’ works from such prestigious art museums as Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Other Degas works in the exhibition include pieces from the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Detroit Institute of Arts; and the Clark Art Institute.

French Impressionist Edgar Degas is internationally renowned for his paintings, sketches, and drawings, as well as his pastels and sculptures depicting the ballet and horses. However, according to exhibition guest curators and distinguished Degas scholars Richard Kendall and Jill DeVonyar, Degas delighted in music and often attended musical performances multiple times a week.

“This exhibition is absolutely ground-breaking. It will offer visitors and art scholars alike a unique view of the artist’s fascination with music and musical performers, which predates and informs his interest in dance,” said David F. Setford, The Hyde’s executive director. “Long before he picked up a brush, he was involved in his family’s musical soirees. In fact, it could be said that music was the touchstone of Degas’ artistic life.”

In addition to the Degas & Music exhibition, being held at The Hyde Collection, the Museum is coordinating a series of lectures, exhibitions, performances, and community events - all with Degas-related themes. The series, titled Season of Degas, brings together forty arts institutions and community organizations, that will host collaborative programs both at The Hyde and surrounding venues from New York’s Capital District north to Saratoga Springs and the Lake George region. More than seventy Degas-themed events will be held in five upstate New York counties during the Season from May through October, 2009.

The Hyde Collection is a historic house and art museum complex with a distinguished collection consisting of works by American and European artists such as Botticelli, Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso, Homer and Eakins, as well as important decorative arts and antique furnishings. The Museum provides changing exhibitions in two gallery spaces, lectures, concerts, family activities and school programming, as well as a Museum Store. Admission is FREE with voluntary donations welcomed. The Hyde Collection is a non-profit institution located at 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, New York. Open year-round Tuesday-Saturday 10 am - 5 pm and Sunday noon - 5 pm ; closed Mondays and national holidays. For information, visit : www.hydecollection.org or call 518-792-1761.