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THBBlack-Bellied Plover Decoy, A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
About Seller
65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States
Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more
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About Auction
LiveFeb 19, 2021
Lots 1-292 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (292)
- Lot Description
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1910
10 1/4 in. long
In "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," authors Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney write, "In addition to being an artist and craftsman, Crowell was an innovator and businessman, able to carve birds at different price points. To this end, he created works with a high degree of variation, as demonstrated by his black-bellied plover carvings." In this case, Crowell took tremendous care in carving his early shorebird rigs for his most affluent patrons, and this example would certainly be placed in that high-ranking group.
This decoy and a small number of others are closely linked to the maker's dust-jacket plover. Illustrating this connection is a highly comparable decoy in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum which has also been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The obvious variation of the museum decoy is its incised raised primary carving. This offering's refined form and exceptional paint application demonstrate the carver's mastery of his trade. It was finished with bead glass eyes and Elmer Crowell's exceptional wet-on-wet feather blending which is particularly well represented on the head and neck.
Original paint with light gunning wear, approximately two inches of touch-up to wood chip on bottom behind stick hole.
Provenance: Private Collection, Cambridge Massachusetts
Literature: Jeff Waingrow, American Wildfowl Decoys, New York, NY, 1985, p. 91 and back cover, closely related example with carved wing tips illustrated. Gary Guyette and Frank Schmidt, Inc., "Important Waterfowl Decoys & Bird Carvings at Auction, July 29 & 30, 1994, Ogunquit, ME, lot 428, exact decoy illustrated. Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2019, p. 218, Crowell plover comparisons illustrated and discussed.Please email condition report requests to colin@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.Condition
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