
Morgan Martin
Head of Department
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Sold for US$15,300 inc. premium
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Head of Department

Specialist, Head of Sale
Provenance
Marie Marcelle Leocadie (née Ménard) de la Vergne (1903-1975), New Orleans, commissioned from the artist.
Louis Victor de la Vergne (1938-2017), New Orleans, by descent from the above.
By descent from the above to the present owner, 2017.
Boy with Catfish (Fountain) was commissioned by Marie Marcelle Leocadie (neé Ménard) de la Vergne to be a focal point in the gardens of the summer home of the de la Vergne family known as Villa de la Vergne in Covington, Louisiana. It was fed by an artesian well nearby on the expansive grounds of the estate. Madame de la Vergne hosted numerous parties at the summer villa for the social elite of her time. Their primary residence was in a grand mansion on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. The de la Vergne's were one of the founding families of New Orleans, descending from Charles de la Vergne, who was born in Paris in 1700. The city of La Vergne, Tennessee derives its name from the de la Vergne family of New Orleans.
Between 1908 and 1918, John Storrs studied with noted sculptors Bela Lyon Pratt (1867-1917) and Charles Grafly (1862-1929) in the U.S. and later with Paul Wayland Bartlett (1865-1925) and Jean-Antoine Injalbert (1845-1933) in Paris, France where he received criticism and support from Auguste Rodin (1840-1917).