William Cohan returns to a favorite subject, the Valsuani foundry plasters, to record the volte face of the Boston MFA’s Arthur Beale who now believes that at least the version of Degas’s little dancer found at the shop in 2004 is an earlier version of the work.

Beale was once among a group who rejected Gregory Hedberg’s theory that the plasters at Valsuani were made during Degas’s lifetime:

Now Mr. Beale has parted ways with his fellow experts. “I think those that have scoffed at it as being a fake or a copy or something, should take a second look,” he said on Friday in an interview. “That there’s a good deal of evidence, of all natures — art, historical, technical, scientific and so forth — that make this a rather significant, seemingly significant piece.”

Did Degas Make This Plaster? An Expert Now Says Yes (The New York Times)