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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Jul 27, 2017 - Jul 28, 2017
Feeding Black-Bellied Plover
Elisha Burr (1839-1909)
Hingham, MA, c. 1880
10 1/2 in. long
Elisha Burr was a master of capturing the postures of live birds. This decoy shows Burr at his best. His birds were carved in animated poses with complex wing and tail treatments. The deep feeding posture of this decoy is rare for any maker, including Burr. This carving style, coupled with Burr's lively brush strokes, created decoys that seem alive with movement. For this reason, Adele Earnest chose a rigmate to this decoy when she curated The World’s Fair in 1967. That rigmate now resides in the American Folk Art Museum Collection in New York City.
This animated shorebird decoy has small glass eyes set in the concave eye grooves. The plump body is finished with the maker's best split wing, detailed primary, and drop tail carving.
Original paint with light gunning wear including minor losses to wing tips.
Provenance: Tony Waring Collection
William J. Mackey, Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
Literature: Quintina Colio, "American Decoys," Ephrata, PA, 1972, p. 72, similar example 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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