Oversize Spear-Rig Black Duck Decoy by Joseph W. Lincoln (1859-1938)

Lot 316

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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$25,000	$2,500
$50,000	$5,000

About Auction

The Sporting Sale 2023, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Sporting Sale 2023, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 14, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-07-14 10:00:00 2023-07-14 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2023, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2023-day-2-12994 Lots 244-517 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Oversize Spear-Rig Black Duck
Joseph W. Lincoln (1859-1938)
Accord, MA, c. 1910
22 in. long

“Lincoln was a laconic man, a consummate Yankee craftsman whose solid-bodied decoys are reflections of their maker’s personality—direct and spare, with not a gesture wasted. Their clean, crisp lines and reductively abstract paint patterns capture the essentials of each species’ form and plumage with remarkable integrity and economy of means.” — Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America"

A special-order black duck made for a major patron. This decoy approaches Lincoln’s typical twenty-five-inch-long goose pattern in size. In addition to the bird’s grand scale, it also displays scalloped speculum paint, a sharp flared bill, and sculpted shoulder carving. Attesting to the rarity of this unrigged, near-mint example, Cap Vinal illustrates and features a related “EARLY ROUND HIGH HEAD-TACK EYES-NOTCHED BILL TIP-SCULPTURED WING SEPARATION-PARTIAL REPAINT” model in his book on the maker.
Excellent original paint with minimal wear and Lincoln check in the bottom.

Provenance: Chester F. Spear Rig, acquired from the maker
By descent in the Spear Family
Private Collection

Literature: Cap Vinal, "Joseph W. Lincoln," Rockland, MA, 2002, p. 29, related decoy illustrated. Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Winter Sale 2019," Hingham, MA, lot 196, exact decoy illustrated.

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
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