SOOKIE: I’m an artist. You don’t dictate to an artist, you don’t tell him what to do. I mean, no ever walked up to Degas and said, “Hey, pal, easy with the dancers, enough already. Draw a nice fruit bowl once in awhile, will ya?”.
Edgar Degas, born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas (1834-1917), French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. He is especially known for his connection with dance – more than half his works depict dancers. One of his most famous works is The Dance Class, 1873-1876 [pictured].
Note that this is yet another reference to ballet in Gilmore Girls.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 