How Much Is Combing the Hair Worth?

Combing the Hair stands at the center of Degas’s late investigations into women at their toilette, a theme that, alongside dancers, defines his legacy. The composition’s daring cropping, chromatic richness, and tactile handling exemplify his 1890s innovations, when he pushed color and pattern to near‑abstract effect while maintaining observational intimacy. Canonical status is reinforced by frequent reproduction, scholarship, and its long tenure in a leading national museum. Within Degas’s hierarchy of subjects, dancers are most universal, but connoisseurs prize the late bathers/toilette oils as the apex of his painterly experimentation. That combination of subject centrality and late‑period mastery supports top‑tier pricing relative to the broader oeuvre.

Large, fully resolved late oils of the bather/toilette motif are exceptionally scarce in private hands; many are in museums. By contrast, pastels on the theme appear more regularly and trade in the low‑ to mid‑seven figures today. This canvas’s substantial dimensions and saturated palette place it among the most desirable manifestations of the series. Scarcity at this level commands a pronounced premium—especially when the example is both compositionally and chromatically outstanding. In a trophy‑driven market where supply dictates outcomes, the rarity of late oils like this creates competitive tension that can propel prices above historical benchmarks for Degas’s two‑dimensional works.

The painting’s chain—from Degas’s 1918 studio sale to the Copenhagen Consortium, to Henri Matisse (1921), Pierre Matisse in New York, and finally the National Gallery in 1937—confers exceptional credibility and cachet. Matisse’s ownership adds art‑historical resonance, while long institutional custody signals quality and stabilizes scholarly reputation. Works with such pedigrees benefit from heightened buyer confidence, smoother due diligence, and a “trophy premium.” A deep exhibition and publication record typically accompanies such museum pieces, further widening the global buyer base and improving the likelihood of strong competition should a comparable example come to market.

Degas’s overall auction record is $41.6m for a Petite danseuse bronze (2022), while his 2‑D apex remains $37.0m (2008). Recent top pastels on dancers—his highest‑demand subject—achieve ~$5–6m, and a related La Coiffure pastel brought ~$3.7m in 2025. A museum‑grade late oil of the toilette motif warrants a substantial multiple over pastel comparables and should price above the older 2‑D record, especially in today’s selective but well‑capitalized trophy market. The $50–70m range reflects this triangulation, adjusting for scarcity, subject prestige, and institutional stature, while recognizing that dancer oils might still set the absolute peak in certain cycles.