$149,000
John LaFarge (American, 1835-1910) Water Lily Unsigned, inscribed "LaFarge" on tape on the reverse of the mount. Watercolor on paper, 8 3/4 x 9 1/2 in. (22 x 24.5 cm), matted. Condition: Laid down at top edge, toning, foxing/staining (primarily to verso). Provenance: Through the private collection of Henry Lee Higginson and Ida Agassiz Higginson. Mr. Higginson was a Boston financier and philanthropist, remembered as the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the donor of Soldier's Field to his alma mater Harvard University. His wife Ida was the daughter of Harvard zoology professor Louis Agassiz. N.B. The work is accompanied by a copy of a letter from James Yarnall, Director, at the LaFarge Catalogue Raisonne. In his letter, Yarnall notes that "LaFarge made sure all of his patrons and friends had (a water lily)...Most like this were done around 1879...(This) is definitely by LaFarge - a more or less signature work."
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2004-03-05
