A few lucky, well-heeled guests will get the chance to view and maybe even buy sculptures by French Impressionist Edgar Degas when they sail into town next month.
A collection of 73 bronzes cast from original Degas plasters - one of 29 sets authorised by the artist's heirs - will arrive aboard Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas. The plasters were discovered between 2001 and 2004 at the Valsuani foundry in France.
The collection will be accompanied by The Little Dancer - the only sculpture to go on display while the artist was alive.
Auctioneer and dealer Art on Royal will host a black-tie dinner and lecture aboard the cruise ship for select guests on June 15, when it is docked in Hong Kong. Depending on how well the collection is received, the sculptures will go on sale individually or as a set.
'Degas was very sensitive to criticism and he only showed one sculpture in his lifetime,' Art on Royal chief executive manager Mark Bronson said on Tuesday while he was in town. 'The mixed reviews made him decide that he'd never show his sculptures again.
'We are so excited because there are so few of his paintings in circulation around the world and here's an unprecedented collection of 73 pieces by such an acclaimed artist being shown all in one go.'
