Edgar Degas. Portraits in a New Orleans Cotton office. 1873. Oil on canvas. Musee des Beaux-Arts, Pau, USA. The small picture shows 14 men at work in his uncle's cotton office. Michael Musson is sitting in the foreground, checking the cotton; René de Gas is reading the paper; Achille de Gas is leaning by the window; Musson’s partner James Prestridge is on a stool, discussing a deal with a client. Musson’s son-in-law, William Bell, is offering the wares to a client, to inspect the quality. In 1876 the painting was shown at the 2nd Impressionist exhibition, and in 1878 became Degas’ first work to be bought by a museum.
