Rare Yellowlegs Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824-1899)

Lot 212

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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About Auction

The Winter Sale by Copley Fine Art Auctions

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The Winter Sale

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 16, 2018 - Feb 17, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-02-16 11:00:00 2018-02-17 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2952 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Rare Yellowlegs
Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824-1899)
Kingston, MA, c. 1870
11 1/2 in. long

Very few Holmes shorebirds have ever been documented. This superb example features elegantly formed, raised-wing carving and well-executed paint. Branded "GEP" on the bottom for the rig of George E. Patterson (1863-1946). Patterson was a Salem, Massachusetts, gentleman who owned an insurance company. He ran with some of greater Boston's sporting royalty, hunting over decoys by Lothrop Holmes and A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) and gunning with Frank W. Benson (1862-1951) and John C. Phillips (1876-1938).

According to Gigi Hopkins in "Massachusetts Masterpieces," "Frank W. Benson was the most frequent visitor of many to George Patterson's hidden gunning camp and in fact, he finished many fine paintings there. Patterson held Benson in such high esteem that he made a solid gold version of his shorebird whistle and presented it to him as a gift. In 1942, Patterson donated two of his Holmes yellowlegs to the then Peabody Museum in Salem. In stark contrast, a few years later, a local gunner took two sugar barrels packed with George’s decoys to the town dump, where they were burned.” Original paint with even wear, some gunning touch-up to white on underside, and a replaced bill.

Provenance: George E. Patterson Rig
Grant Nelson Collection

Literature: Gwladys Hopkins, "Massachusetts Masterpieces," Lincoln, MA, 2016, pp. 49 and 103, pl. 17, rigmate illustrated.
Guyette and Schmidt, "Important Auction of Rare Waterfowl Decoys from the Collection of John Hillman," April 25 & 26, 1996, West Farmington, ME, 1996, p. 51, lot 175, 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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