John Rogers (1829-1904)

'The Shaughraun and Tatters', A Bronze Group

Details

John Rogers (1829-1904)
'The Shaughraun and Tatters', A Bronze Group
inscribed 'JOHN ROGERS NEW YORK', 'PATENTED MAR. 2 1875' and 'THE SHAUGHRAUN AND "TATTERS"'
19¼in. (49cm.) high, brown patina

Provenance

Estate of Leonardo L. Beans, Trenton New Jersey
Sale: New York, Sotheby's, April 30, 1980, lot 359

Literature

Comparative Literature
Mr. and Mrs. C. Smith, Rogers Groups Thought & Wrought by John Rogers, Boston, 1934, no. 43, pp. 82-83, illus.
D.H. Wallace, John Rogers: The Peolpe's Sculptor, Middletown, Connecticut, 1967, no. 143, pp. 237, 294, 303-304, illus

Exhibited

Albany, New York, Executive Mansion, April, 1983-October, 1985

Lot Essay

"This group was designed to capitalize on the popularity of Dion Boucicault, author-director-star of the long-run play 'The Shanghraun' (an Irish term meaning vagabond)." (Wallace p. 237) The scene depicts Con (the vagabond) coaxing his dog, Tatters, to perform outside the military prison where his master was confined. The group was appealing not only for its Civil War genre subject matter but mainly for the Irish-American followers of Boucicault.