'The Little Dancer' (Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans) by Degas has been sold for a record price.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainmen ... 869151.stm

I note it was sold by the Chairman of Reading Football club, perhaps he plans to spend the money on a new centre forward.

Yes, I was planning to bid, but I bought one another of the originals on ebay instead.

What I didn't realise till recently was that these bronze figurines were only commissioned by his estate in the 1920's, some time after the death of Degas. The original was 40 years old and the worse for wear by the time of the creation of the bronze copies:

"...the founders attempted to match the colours and aged appearance of the original wax sculpture, which, by this point, had spent forty years in the artist's studio. Pigmented waxes, ranging in colour from pale orange through pink and brown, were rubbed into the flesh areas. The bodice was painted a cream colour, but a pigmented wax was applied to darken the lower part. The skirt was dipped in a mixture of animal glue and pigment in order to created an aged effect."

from the Tate collection briefing:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=3705