The Degas House

To stay at the Degas House in New Orleans, Louisiana is to step back into history. Built in 1852 as a gracious home for the maternal family of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas, the beautifully-restored house is listed on The National Register of Historic Places. It also has popular tours, a museum and is a much-coveted site for weddings.

Edgar Degas was a leading figure in the French Impressionist art movement of the 19th century and is famed widely for his paintings of dancers. Degas was the son of a Haitian-born French father and a Creole mother who was born in New Orleans. Degas traveled to New Orleans in 1862 to stay with his maternal family, the Mussons. Influenced by the vibrant life there, he finished eighteen paintings and four drawings during his sojourn in the city. The restored Degas House, on Esplanade Avenue, is the only Degas house in the world open to the public. It is located on a street of mansions, which is charmingly shaded by a canopy of live oak trees.

The house was built in Greek Revival style, popular at the time, and later remodeled in an Italianate manner in the 1880s to keep up with current fashion. The owner of the Degas House has restored the home with the best of both architectural designs, and has embellished the house with fine reproductions of Degas paintings, antique furnishings and wall coverings and draperies consistent with the era. The result is an elegant Bed and Breakfast, with magnificent rooms and Creole fare served to guests each morning.

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Plan Your Trip

Table of Contents:

• 1. Degas House Accommodations
• 2. Activities
• 3. Plan your vacation