Jaguar Devouring a Hare (model)

Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875), Paris;

Purchased from Barye by Ernest Le Roy (b. ca. 1843-1926), Paris, by June 25, 1875-no later than July 10, 1926 [1];

Purchased from Le Roy by James Gardner Shepherd (1867-1935), Scranton, PA, and New York, by July 10, 1926-March 19, 1935 [2];

Inherited by his wife, Celia Beatrice Shepherd (née Rine, b. 1885), New York, March 19-November 7, 1935 [3];

Purchased at her sale, The James G. Shepherd Collection of Important Paintings and Barye Bronzes, American Art Association, New York, November 7, 1935, lot 33, Jaguar Devouring a Hare, by Brummer Gallery, New York, stock no. N3598, 1935-December 1, 1944 [4];

Purchased from Brummer Gallery by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1944.

NOTES:

[1] Per Leslie A. Hyam, Ernest Le Roy formed his collection of Barye bronzes during the sculptor’s lifetime, which means Le Roy must have purchased Jaguar Devouring a Hare prior to Barye’s death on June 25, 1875; see “Foreword” in The James G. Shepherd Collection of Important Paintings and Barye Bronzes (New York: American Art Association, 1935). Le Roy was a dealer who oversaw the Galerie Ernest Le Roy, rue Scribe, Paris. His posthumous sale on December 2-3, 1926 included 32 bronzes by Barye, but Jaguar Devouring a Hare was not among them; see Collection Ernest Le Roy (Paris: Galerie Georges Petit, 1926), nos. 52-83.

[2] Le Roy sold his collection to Shepherd “on the express condition that the former owner should be given a first option to repurchase en bloc, and it was expressly stipulated that the collection should only be dispersed in its entirety.” See “Foreword” in The James G. Shepherd Collection of Important Paintings and Barye Bronzes (New York: American Art Association, 1935).

[3] The front cover of The James G. Shepherd Collection lists “Mrs. James G. Shepherd” as the owner of the collection.

[4] Per The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloister Library and Archives, The Brummer Gallery Records, Modern Sculptures and Paintings, stock card N3598. See also The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloister Library and Archives, The Brummer Gallery Records, Sales Ledger for January 1, 1940-December 31, 1936, p. 110-11.