Dowitcher with Raised Primaries, A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)

Lot 2

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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$50,000	$5,000

About Auction

The Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

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

Dowitcher with Raised Primaries
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1915
11 1/4 in. long

An important, early, working Crowell dowitcher decoy displaying finely painted detail and intricate incised wing-tip carving. It is difficult to find early examples of this species by Crowell as he concentrated primarily on black-bellied plover and yellowlegs during the first quarter of the 20th century. While several related examples have surfaced over the years, this early decoy is one of the very few that features the maker's "dust jacket" style carving.

This decoy shows little wear, suggesting it was promptly retired to the shelf.
Excellent original paint, minimal touch-up to hairline neck crack and very end of wing tips.

Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection

Literature: Robert H. Boyle, "With a Quack, Quack Here," Sports Illustrated, September 27, 1971, p. 51, exact decoy illustrated.
Laurence Sheehan, "The Birding Life," New York, NY, 2011, p. 92, exact decoy illustrated.Stephen B. O'Brien, Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving,"Hingham, MA, 2018, exact decoy illustrated.
Paul A. Johnsgard, "The Bird Decoy: An American Art Form," Lincoln, NE, 1976, back cover and p. 161, rigmate illustrated.
Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 80, 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.
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