Description:

George Rodrigue
American/Louisiana, 1944-2013
"Cajun Fisherman (Tee Coon)"
patinated bronze
signed and numbered "6/10" on base of tree, wood base.

Provenance: Acquired from artist Philip Sage.

Note: George Rodrigue's first experience with sculpture came as a young child bedridden with polio when his mother brought him paint-by-number sets and modeling clay. He continued to explore three-dimensional designs throughout his life. In the 1970s, he created clay sculptures inspired by his own Cajun culture, echoing the themes of his paintings with figures melded into the Louisiana oak tree. He first modeled the soft clay with his fingers and then chiseled the hardened material with metal tools to achieve his desired surfaces. Once complete, he worked with a foundry to transform the clay models using a classical lost wax process into finished bronze sculptures. By the 1980s, he primarily utilized the Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque, New Mexico, although he also spent extensive time in the mid-1980s at a foundry in Pietrasanta, Italy – a town famous for its foundries and marble since the Italian Renaissance. In the bronze offered here, the oak tree and fisherman with his pirogue appear to have leapt from one of Rodrigue's canvases into three dimensions with the dark, rich patina of the bronze evoking the atmosphere of the bayou. The fisherman is modeled after Tee Coon, the janitor at Catholic High in New Iberia, Louisiana and a good friend of the artist, whose likeness was immortalized dozens of times over the years in Rodrigue's paintings and this rare sculpture.

  • Dimensions: 11 x 11 1/2 x 10 in. (27.9 x 29.2 x 25.4 cm.), Overall Height: 12 in. (30.5 cm.)
  • Medium: patinated bronze
  • Condition: Light surface dirt; overall excellent condition; few light marks and nicks scattered on wood base.

Shipping Options

Invaluable Shipping

  • Expert Care packing and Shipping
  • Shipment Protection
  • Real-time tracking

Arrange your own

  • You will coordinate with us to arrange your own shipping

Local pickup

  • You will coordinate with us and arrange pick up time after payment.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

November 21, 2025 11:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

Neal Auction Company

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
$100,000 + $20,000