Grotto with Figure of Mary, (sculpture).

Grotto with Figure of Mary, (sculpture).

Unknown, sculptor.

Grotto with Figure of Mary, (sculpture).

Figure of Mary ca. 1960s. Original figure of Our Lady of Lourdes ca. 1906. Grotto 1908. Dedicated 1910.

Digital Reference:

Figure of Mary: concrete, painted; Grotto: stone from Mexico and concrete. Kneeler: concrete.

Figure of Mary: approx. 6 ft.; Grotto: approx. H. 15 ft. x W. 10 ft.; Kneeler: approx. H. 2 ft. x W. 6 ft.

A stone grotto containing a standing figure of Mary as a young girl. Mary stands with her hands clasped together in prayer. She has long hair and wears a blue robe over a white gown trimmed with gold around the neckline. The figure of Mary is installed in a three foot mound of concrete inside the stone grotto. In front of the grotto is a concrete kneeler for prayer.

Religion -- New Testament -- Mary

Religion -- Prayer

Outdoor Sculpture -- Louisiana -- Covington

St. Scholastica School, 20th Street, Covington, Louisiana

IAS files contain copy of newspaper article from The Picayune (Louisiana), April 26, 1992, pg. 2H1. According to the article, a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes given to St. Scholastica in 1906 by Laurence Cole originallly stood inside the grotto. The statue was given in honor of six of his children who were educated at the school. Laurence Cole built the grotto in 1908 with stone from Mexico, and the work was dedicated in 1910. The original statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was made in France and was modeled after one located in France. A statue of Bernadette kneeling at the foot of the grotto was also part of the original installation. The statues of Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette were later moved to an island in the pond at the Benedictine priory on Stafford Road. At a later point, both statues were removed from the island. The statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was relocated to the priory cemetery where it remained, and the statue of Bernadette has not been located. The figure of Mary that is currently located inside the grotto was bought along the east coast in the 1950s by Sister Mary Theresa Brentano. The figure was originally located in the second floor hallway of the school, but was later moved to the grotto and was embedded in a concrete mound inside the grotto. A ca. 1992 restoration of the figure was made possible by a gift from the Class of 1991. IAS image files include photos of the statue before and after restoration.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Louisiana, New Orleans survey, 1993.

The Picayune (Louisiana), April 26, 1992, pg. 2H1.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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