Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas was born on July 19, 1834, at 8 rue Saint-George's in Paris. His father, Auguste, a banker, was French, and his mother, Célestine, an American from New Orleans. The family name "Degas" had been changed to "De Gas" by some family members in Naples and France in order to sound more aristocratic; the preposition indicated a name derived from land holdings. Degas went back to using the original spelling sometime after 1870, and that is how we spell his name today.

He was destined for a law career, but instead entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he studies with Louis Lamothe. There he became a painter and sculptor.

Degas was associated with the Impressionists, taking an active part in there firsts exhibitions, but his individual choice of subject matter, handling of composition, and emphasis of drawing distinguished his works from theirs. He worked with a number of media: oil, pastel, lithography, engraving, and sculpture.

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Title: Edgar Degas
Approximate Word Count: 494
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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