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
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Jul 27, 2017 - Jul 28, 2017
Canvasback Hen
John R. Wells (1860-1953)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, c. 1900
16 in. long
A hollow canvasback with superb head and bill carving and the maker's finest blended and combed paint. O'Brien described this Wells as having "the best paint job I have seen on a hen can."
Branded on the underside "J.R.W. MAKER" and painted “G.R.C.”
In excellent original paint with light gunning wear.
Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection
Literature: Sotheby's and Guyette and Schmidt, "American Waterfowl Decoys: The Distinguished Collection of Dr. James M. McCleery," New York, NY, 2000, p. 39, lot 60, related decoy illustrated.
Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 83, exact decoy illustrated.
Exhibited: New York, New York, “The Art of the American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr.,” Museum of American Folk Art, September 3–November 8, 1981.
Condition report requests can be made via email or by telephone (info@copleyart.com or 617.536.0030). 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.
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