20 Winter Street
Pembroke, MA 02359
United States
Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more
Two ways to bid:
Price | Bid Increment |
---|---|
$0 | $50 |
$1,000 | $100 |
$2,500 | $250 |
$5,000 | $500 |
$10,000 | $1,000 |
$25,000 | $2,500 |
$50,000 | $5,000 |
Jul 25, 2015 - Jul 26, 2015
In 1910 future World War II General George S. Patton (1885-1945) married his wife, Beatrice Ayer, in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. Together they owned a farm in nearby Hamilton, Massachusetts, where his son (1923-2004) lived and his daughter-in-law still resides. In the summer of 1923 Patton was assigned to the General Staff Corps in Boston. At that time, Patton purchased a rig of goose decoys from George Boyd. A few years later he was transferred to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. His goose decoys were given to his cousin, William Gordon "Gus" Means. Means was born in Boston in 1884. In 1906 he graduated from Harvard University and joined the ranks of that University's sportsmen and sporting authors. After college, Means settled north of Boston in Beverly, Massachusetts. In 1941 he authored "My Guns" and in 1953 wrote "My Bird Dogs and Hounds." Both were recollections of his earlier sporting exploits. This fine goose with historic provenance bears Means' brand. The decoy exhibits tack eyes, a slightly turned head, canvas stretched over a wood frame, and a carved breast and tail.
Provenance: Gen. George S. Patton Rig
William G. Means Rig
Private Collection
Literature: Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Sporting Sale 2013," Boston, MA, 2013, lot 129, rigmate illustrated.
Shipping info