Woman Bathing in a Shallow Tub, 1885. Edgar Degas. Charcoal and pastel on light green wove paper, now discolored to warm gray, laid down on silk bolting. H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929.
When Degas showed his "suite of nudes," including this pastel, at the eighth and final Impressionist exhibition in 1886, critics viciously attacked the ungainly poses of his bathers. After the exhibition Degas gave the picture to Mary Cassatt in exchange for her painting Girl Arranging Her Hair (National Gallery of Art, Washington). Louisine Havemeyer eventually acquired both works.