Storrs, John Henry Bradley, 1885-1956

John Storrs, born in Chicago, decided to become a sculptor while abroad in 1907-1908. After his return, he studied with Lorado Taft at the Chicago Art Institute and with Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He returned to France in 1912, where he was a favorite pupil of Rodin. Storrs turned from traditional representation to Cubist and machinelike forms in 1920. His many colleagues included Louise Bryant and Jacques Lipschitz. After 1921, he and his wife, French writer Marguerite de Ville Chabrol, lived in their chateau Chantecaille near Blois. Between 1941-1944, Storrs was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Gestapo. Following the war, he continued his work and was active in local art associations.

From the description of John Henry Bradley Storrs scrapbook and studio book, 1909-1972, 1909-1938 (bulk dates). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 82274950

John Henry Bradley Storrs (1885-1956) was a sculptor from Chicago, Ill. and Mer, France.

Storrs studied with Lorado Taft at the Chicago Art Institute and with Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts upon his return from a trip abroad, 1907-1908. He returned to France in 1912, where he studied with Auguste Rodin. He turned from traditional representation to machinelike forms in 1920. After 1921, he and his wife, French writer Maguerite Deville Chabrol, lived in their chateau Chantecaille in Mer, France. Between 1941-1944, Storrs was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Gestapo.

From the description of John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1837-1987, bulk 1900-1956. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 430380294

Sculptor; Paris, France and Chicago, Ill.

Studied with Lorado Taft at the Chicago Art Institute and with Charles Grafly at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts upon his return from a trip abroad, 1907-1908. He returned to France in 1912, where he studied with Rodin. Turned from traditional representation to machinelike forms in 1920. After 1921, he and his wife, French writer Maguerite Deville Chabrol, lived in their chateau Chantecaille near Blois. Between 1941-1944, Storrs was arrested and imprisoned several times by the Gestapo.

From the description of John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1847-1987. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84293858

John Henry Bradley Storrs (1885-1956) worked primarily in Chicago, Illinois, and Mer, France, as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker.

John Storrs was born in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois, to David William Storrs, an architect, and Hannah Bradley Storrs. Upon completing his schooling in 1905 he went to Berlin with the intention of studying music, but instead chose to study sculpture with the Arthur Bock in Hamburg, Germany. He also spent time in Paris and traveled throughout Europe, Turkey, and Egypt, returning to the US in late 1907. Storrs took night classes at the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by periods of study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with Bela Pratt, and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Charles Grafly. In 1912 he returned to Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian and with the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. During this period his work was greatly influenced by cubism and futurism. In 1914 he married French writer Marguerite Deville-Chabrol. After briefly returning to the US to exhibit his work, Storrs worked at a hospital in Paris throughout World War I and in 1918 his daughter Monique was born. He and his family settled in Mer, France, at the Chateau de Chantecaille in 1921.

The following two decades were very productive for Storrs and he frequently travelled between the US and France to exhibit and create work. He showed in many notable exhibits such as the Société Anonyme's International Exhibition of Modern Art in New York in 1926, and he completed several commissions such as a statue for the Chicago Board of Trade in 1929. During this time Storrs completely moved away from representational work and refined his non-objective, machine-like sculpture. Besides sculpture, he also produced many paintings, woodcuts, lithographs, and other works on paper. He created works for the Century of Progress International Exposition in 1933 and also worked for the Public Works of Art Project in 1934.

During World War II Storrs was twice arrested and imprisoned by the German occupation forces, once for six months from 1941 to 1942 and again in 1944 along with his daughter Monique who was part of the French Resistance. These events greatly impacted his health and he produced very little work in the late 1940s and 1950s. He continued to exhibit his work and was also president in 1954 of the Ecole de la Loire, a group of 75 artists working in the Loire Valley. John Storrs died in 1956.

From the guide to the John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1837-1996, bulk 1900-1956, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)