O'Brien Webster Golden Plover Decoy, Mr. Webster

About Auction

Live

The Sporting Sale 2021, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 9, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-07-09 10:00:00 2021-07-09 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2021, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2021-day-1-7026
Lots 1-246 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

View Full Catalog (246)

• Lot Description
  O'Brien Webster Golden Plover
  Mr. Webster
  Nantucket, MA, c. 1850
  9 1/2 in. long
  
  This decoy represents one of the very best of the smooth-wing decoys from this rig. Created in an upright calling posture, the swooping lines of this example are on full display.
  
  Early collectors Donal C. O?Brien Jr., William J. Mackey Jr., and Adele Earnest all believed that the plover from this rig were among the finest works of American folk art they had ever come across.
  
  Indeed, Mackey and O?Brien hunted down and acquired fifteen of the seventeen examples that surfaced. The majority continues to reside in the O?Brien collection and one can be seen in Mackey and Weiler?s "Classic Shorebird Decoys" portfolio.
  
  The group, while cohesive in its paint, which depicts breeding plumage, appears to have been made without a pattern. This free-hand approach produced a lively flock with no two birds exactly alike.
  Original paint with even gunning wear.
  
  Provenance: Franklin Folger Webster Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts
  Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection
  The Johnson Collection, acquired from the above, 2005
  
  Literature: Milton C. Weiler, "The Classic Decoy Series: A Portfolio of Paintings," New York, NY, 1969, pl. 2, rigmate illustrated. William Doyle Galleries, ?Waterfowl and Shorebird Decoys,? New York, NY, April 15, 1981, back cover and p. 61, lot 76, rigmate illustrated twice. Joe Engers, ?Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,? Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 8, rigmate illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.," Houston, TX, 1992, p. 13, related example illustrated. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., "Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, New Jersey," Hyannis, MA, 1973, Session III, lot 320, rigmate illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, ?The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O?Brien Jr.,? The Clarion: America?s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 30, rigmate illustrated. Jackson Parker, ?O?Brien Classic Decoys on Display at Museum of American Folk Art,? North American Decoys Magazine, Spring/Summer 1982, p. 34, rigmate illustrated. Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 79, two rigmates illustrated. Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys, Sessions I-II," July 27, 2017, inside front cover, six rigmates illustrated in O?Brien?s living room.

  Condition

  Please email condition report requests to colin@copleyart.com. 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

  • Copley Fine Art Auctions does not handle the shipping of any items. Shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. Once your payment has cleared, and we have received your authorized shipping release form items may be released for shipment. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items. Buyers should allow up to four weeks for shipment. Please be aware that internet bidders may NOT not pick up their items at the sale. Items will be available for pick up by appointment or by shippers five days after the sale.

• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	23.00
    $1,000,000	18.00