The Philips Collection, Washington, D.C.

Though seemingly a composition of three women, the model is evidently the same girl seen in three different poses and combined into a single picture. This idea of putting together in one composition multiple views of one model is new to art, and Degas used it over and over again. Here he added a background to suggest a beach, and in the upper background a touch of green, to suggest grass and trees.

The drawing is delicately inclusive, capturing the form of the figures with a masterly grace. Here and there the artist   has added more solid modeling to suggest a kind of sculptural approach, or accented a line or a profile to give strength to his design.

The repetitions, of the whites in the dresses and the tones of the hair, unify this unusual composition. Later Degas in his sculpture would condense many views of the same figure into three-dimensional form. The naturalness of the subject is somewhat new to painting. Before Degas, few artists treated woman at such homely and unconventional pursuits. Later he would spend years of his life at such themes, exploring every gesture and movement of this kind.