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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$2,500 | $250 |
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Jul 28, 2017 - Jul 29, 2017
Curlew
Mason Decoy Factory (1896-1924)
Detroit, MI, c. 1900
18 in. long
The Grant Nelson Collection of Shorebird Decoys is one of the finest ever assembled. Nelson’s love for shorebirds grew out of his appreciation for avian works by Boston impressionist painter Frank W. Benson (1862- 1951).
For two decades, Nelson’s focus was on acquiring exemplary works with great form, surface, and provenance. Nelson’s acquisitions, totaling well over one hundred birds, are a defining collection in the field.
In discussing this exact decoy, David Schorsch states, “The Mason Factory produced superbly painted decoys of this species which, according to Goldberger and Haid, ‘are among the finest shorebirds made by any maker…one of the crowning achievements of the Mason Factory. They represent an anchor of many a shorebird collection.’”
Original paint with even gunning wear, touch-up to back, neck seam, and filler under bill.
Provenance: Grant Nelson Collection, acquired from David A. Schorsch American Antiques, Inc.
Literature: David A. Schorsch, "American Decoys II: A Folk Art Tradition," New York, NY, 1996, p. 57, plate 28, exact decoy illustrated.
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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