Stair Sainty selling a controversial Degas sculpture

The model for Degas' sculpture 'Little Dancer' was ballet student Marie Van Goethem. Degas first made a wax of her in the nude. Then, aiming for a naturalistic effect, he dressed it in clothing made of real fabrics. When the wax sculpture was first exhibited, contemporaries were shocked by the unprecedented realism of the piece. But they were also moved by the work’s representation of the pain and stress of ballet training endured by a barely adolescent girl. After Degas’ death, his heirs decided to make bronze casts of the wax original (around 1922).

In 2017, Stair Sainty claimed that a bronze cast of the original – as first exhibited at the impressionist exhibition in Paris, 1881 – has 'resurfaced'. Sainty's dancer looks more childlike and less elegant than the original sculpture in the Tate Museum. 

However, Edgar Degas never worked exclusively in wax, much less cast in bronze. Additionally, Edgar Degas expressly stated his intentions during his lifetime that he did -not- want to cast in bronze. Furthermore, Edgar Degas never signed his original lifetime mixed-media sculptures. More details can be obtained here. 

In the past, Sainty has falsely accused a Dutch colleague of selling fake (resurfaced) art. He made the same accusations towards Sotheby's. This strategy is often applied by conmen as a cover-up for their own crimes. 

What is highly alarming, is the fact that Sainty's Little Dancer is less elegant than the original sculpture. Often forgers will go to great lengths to reproduce the materials and processes, or the appearance, of the appropriate historical period. Manufacturing processes leave telltale marks, such as casting where there may be some ‘flash’ or extra metal as a result of the molten material flowing into a small gap between moulds. 

We also noted that around the time of Sainty's 'discovery', the Wikipedia article regarding the 'Little Dancer' has been modified by Gregory Hedberg, who endorses Sainty's discovery. This is also suspicious. 

At the moment, we are actively investigation these issues.