Program for an Artistic Soirée

Edgar Degas' 'Program For An Artistic Soirée,' drawn in 1884. Black chalk on paper, 26.6 x 37.6 cm (10 1/2 x 14 13/16 in.) sheet

Among the thirteen works stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 were two nearly identical studies by Edgar Degas for the cover of a program advertising an artistic soirée held in Paris in 1884. Rather than depicting a single scene, the drawings combine dancers, musicians, sailing ships, smokestacks, and theatrical figures surrounding a blank space where the event's details would eventually be printed. The playful compositions reflect Degas' fascination with performance and modern life, while also revealing the artist's process as he developed the final design. Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1919, the drawings were displayed in cabinets in the museum's Short Gallery. During the infamous Gardner heist on March 18, 1990, thieves removed both studies along with three other Degas works, a Vermeer, three Rembrandts, a Manet, and several decorative objects. More than three decades later, neither drawing has been recovered. Although overshadowed by masterpieces such as Vermeer's The Concert and Rembrandt's The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, the two Program for an Artistic Soirée studies remain among the most recognizable missing works from the Gardner theft. Together they offer a rare glimpse into Degas' creative process—and remain enduring reminders that even preparatory sketches can become priceless targets for art thieves.