Canvasback Hen, The Ward Brothers

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The Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 19, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-07-19 13:00:00 2018-07-19 13:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2018-day-1-3286
On July 19, Copley Fine Art Auctions will lead off their annual Sporting Sale with 140 lots from the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys. On July 20 Copley will present an additional 425 lots of decoys, fish carvings, and sporting art. Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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• Lot Description
  Canvasback Hen
  The Ward Brothers
  Lemuel T. (1896-1983) and Stephen (1895-1976)
  Crisfield, MD, 1932
  16 1/2 in. long
  
  Signed on the bottom "L.T. Ward - Bro, Crisfield, Md., Lem -Steve Ward,1932." While they are dated 1932, these birds have been canonized as the 1936 model. This decoy is a rigmate to the following lot.
  
  The Ward Brothers’ hometown of Crisfield, Maryland, is on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, just miles north of the Virginia border and due west of Chincoteague Island. Under the tutelage of their father Travis Ward (1873-1926), a boatbuilder, decoy carver, and barber, Lem and Steve began carving decoys in their teenage years. Around the time of their father’s passing in the 1920s, the brothers, both barbers, formed a decoy carving partnership that would last a lifetime.
  
  Their reputation for producing fine decoys spread across the country, and the brothers continually worked to advance their carving and painting skills as “wildfowl counterfeiters in wood.” They were fortunate enough to enjoy some of their popularity in the mid-twentieth century when decoy collecting was a growing field. In 1968 The Ward Foundation was started and in 1975 The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art at Salisbury University was established. The museum is now the largest of its kind dedicated to the subject.
  
  The Ward Brothers captured the likeness of species in their carvings as well as any maker before or after their remarkable careers. This superb example has a turned head and excellent bill carving. Of the highly coveted 1936 model canvasbacks the Wards produced, it is rare to find one with its original bill intact as the long and delicate bills were prone to breakage. The full body, refined head carving, exceptional paint, original condition, and provenance of this example place it among the finest hens known.
  
  In his notes O'Brien writes, "If I were to pick a pair of decoys to illustrate the art of decoy making, I would pick the Ward Brothers 1936 canvasbacks." He searched "high and low" for "the widest, most flaring bills" and owned six different pairs as a result. The O'Brien family selected a Ward '36 canvasback to be used as the model for the O'Brien Collection stamp.
  Original paint with even gunning wear and touch-up around neck putty.
  
  Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection
  
  Literature: Ronald J. Gard and Brian J. McGrath, "Ward Brothers’ Decoys: A Collector’s Guide," Wolf City, TX, 1989.
  Robert H. Boyle, “The Art of Deception,” Audubon Magazine, May/June 2002, p. 48, no. 10, related decoy illustrated.
  Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 80, exact decoy illustrated.
  Laurence Sheehan, "The Birding Life," New York, NY, 2011, p. 95, exact decoy illustrated.

  Condition

  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.
• Shipping Info

  • Shipping info

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• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	20.00
    $1,000,000	15.00