Rare Mallard Pair by Oscar Alford (1883-1962)

Lot 401

About Seller

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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About Auction

The Winter Sale 2025, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2025, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 22, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-02-22 10:00:00 2025-02-22 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2025, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2025-day-2-17705 Lots 262-501 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Rare Mallard Pair
Oscar Alford (1883-1962)
Beardstown, IL, c. 1920
13 in. long

Oscar Alford had one of the most whimsical styles of all the Illinois River decoy makers. With perfectly round heads, thin pointed bills, gently concave backs, intricate tail carving, and highly stylized paint patterns, Alford's decoys are capricious examples of American folk art.

Oscar Alford, along with his sons, Howard and Glenn, produced a total of only three dozen decoys for personal use. Of this rig of exclusively mallards, there were two dozen drakes and only one dozen hens. Howard was known to have done most of the painting. From observing live, caged birds, he developed a stylized feather pattern that is among the most elaborate ever applied to an early gunning decoy. Every feather on the hen is represented, including on the bottom of the bird.

Each bird is hollowed, yet the body seams remain virtually invisible after a century. The drake's head is turned to the left and the hen's is slightly turned to the right. The family hunted over the rig for more than twenty years. Despite heavy usage and the bird's delicate construction, the Alfords took very good care of the rig, fashioning individual bags for each bird to carry the decoys to and from the field.
Original paint with even gunning wear. Typical gunning touch-up to drake's breast and bill by the Alfords. A few stacking rubs. Hen has tight cracks at base of neck.

Provenance: Alford Family Rig
Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection

Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Julie Carlson, "Masterworks of the Illinois River," Boston, MA, 2005, pp. 110-111, exact pair illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 90, pl. 71, rigmate illustrated. Exhibited: Salisbury, Maryland, "The Illinois River Meets the Chesapeake," Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, September 2-November 13, 2005.

Condition

Please refer to the description; if you have questions, email colin@copleyart.com.
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