Degas national gallery london

Among all other works shown at the 4th Impressionist Exhibition in Paris in April 1879, a few weeks after its completion, the painting is no doubt one of the most uncompromisingly daring and modern.

Reunited for this exhibition, a significant ensemble of Degas’s preparatory drawings will show him at work, observing and sketching this remarkably talented sitter.

Born in Szczecin, Prussia (now Poland) to a European mother and an African-American father, Olga's racial identity, both as a performer and a person, will be addressed in the exhibition.

Showcasing recent research into Black models, the exhibition will restore Miss La La’s name – Anna Albertine Olga Brown, known as Olga, redressing the historic loss of the identities of non-white sitters. A selection of posters will attest to Olga's brilliant career, the extent of which had until recently not been fully grasped – and her immense success in France, England and way beyond.

The exhibition wil