Degas collection, 74 bronzes worth $21M, donated to Purdue Galleries

University calls alum’s gift, including a casting of Degas’ iconic ‘The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen,’ the ‘jewel in the crown’ of Purdue Galleries’ collection

For more than a decade, a casting of “La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans (The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen),” a signature sculpture among impressionist Edgar Degas’ work, had a place on rotating pedestal in the living room of Avrum Gray’s suburban Chicago home.

“It’s beautiful,” Gray said. “Why wouldn’t you want it to be where you could see it all the time?”

Which became the subtext for Gray’s decision last year, as he was contemplating how to handle a pending downsize from his home in Glencoe, about the destination for the “Little Dancer” and an extended set of dozens of other Degas sculptures he had in his art collection.

And how Purdue, his alma mater, became the right fit.

Edgar Degas’ ‘La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans (The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen)” is part of a gift of 74 bronzes from the collection of Purdue alum Avrum Gray. (The Degas Sculpture Project)