He later studied sculpting in marble at Pietrasanta in Tuscany. In the late 1970s, deGarthe began a ten-year project to sculpt a "lasting monument to Nova Scotia fishermen" on a 30 m (100 ft) granite outcropping behind his Peggy's Cove Home. In 1976 deGarthe invited one of his students, J. Rene Barrette (Lt. Col. Retd) to help him with the sculpture. They worked together for 5 years. The project was about 80-per cent complete when the artist died in 1983. With deGarthe's approval, Rene Barrette documented their progress on the sculpture in journals that were printed and sold to tourists who gathered around to watch the two artists at work. The work depicts thirty-two fishermen and their wives and children enveloped by the wings of the guardian angel St. Elmo. It also features the image of Peggy, a legendary late-18th century shipwreck survivor deGarthe believed gave her name to the village. deGarthe bequeathed the sculpture to the province of Nova Scotia and it can be viewed in a park located behind his former home. deGarthe gallery deGarthe's Peggy's Cove home has been transformed into the William E. deGarthe Gallery where 65 of his paintings and sculptures are on permanent exhibition. It is open from May 1 until October 31 each year. The gallery is part of the Nova Scotia Museum network. Although none of the works at the gallery is for sale, the North Shore Historic Art Gallery in nearby Lunenburg carries deGarthe's work. A permanent display of deGarthe painting is exhibited at the Nova Scotia Archives in Halifax. His works are also in the collection of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Barbados Museum as well as numerous private collections around the world. Personal life deGarthe became a Canadian citizen in 1934. In 1935 he met weaver and editor Phoebe Agnes Payne (1906-2008) at a house party and within a few months they married. In 1931 deGarthe visited Peggy's Cove, a rugged and picturesque fishing village near Halifax, for the first time. Inspired by the community's stark beauty, deGarthe and his wife bought a summer home there in 1948. He was to visit there frequently to paint and exhibit his work. In 1955 deGarthe closed his city advertising business and moved to Peggy's Cove permanently. He would remain there for the rest of his life, rebuilding his studio after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ginny in 1963.