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THBRuddy Duck Drake
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
LiveFeb 12, 2015 - Feb 13, 2015
Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (564)
- Lot Description
John Williams (1857-1937), Cedar Island, VA
c. 1890
“The Folk art of America is forever richer because John Williams lived and carved on Cedar Island.” -William J. Mackey, Jr. “American Bird Decoys”A very rare ruddy duck decoy, which is one of only three known to exist by this important Southern maker. One example is in the collection of the American Museum of Folk Art in New York, New York; the other was purchased by a North Carolina collector for $159,000, a world record for the maker. To underscore this bird's rarity, more than twice as many ruddies by North Carolina's great decoy maker, Lee Dudley (1860-1942), have survived.
This bird exhibits a full and rounded body with a humped back and measures nine and one-half inches from tail to breast. The head is slightly inset into the back, features a high uplifted posture, very full white cheeks, and sweeping lines from the top of the head to the bill's tip.
Although Williams lived and carved on Cedar Island in Virginia’s Back Bay, his work is inextricably linked to Carolina, as William J. Mackey, Jr. makes a point of clarifying on two occasions in his book, “American Bird Decoys.” Mackey states: “Since Back Bay’s and Currituck's physical and ecological unity is obvious, Virginia can well share her claim to this small waterfowl paradise with her sister state of North Carolina. So for our purposes Back Bay and Currituck Sound have a bond that not even a state line can dissolve. Wildfowl fly between the two connecting bodies of water oblivious of man’s jurisdictional problems down below.” This ruddy duck was hunted at the Narrows Island Gun Club in North Carolina’s Currituck Sound.
“... the overall importance of Carolina’s bays and sounds in the wildfowl picture almost demands that decoy collections contain some example of Carolina origin.” William J. Mackey, Jr. “American Bird Decoys”
Provenance: Narrows Island Gun Club RigDonal O'Brien Collection
Ed Johnston, Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
Literature: Joe Engers, "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 176, exact decoy illustrated.Dick McIntyre, "North Carolina Ruddy Ducks," Decoy Magazine, September/October 1993, front cover, and pp. 8-11, exact decoy illustrated in reverse on cover.
Robert Shaw, "Bird decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 218 and p. 56, rigmate illustrated.
William J. Mackey, Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, pp. 165-172.
Condition: Mix of original and working paint with gunning wear, worn to the wood with good patina. Age crack in the neck with an old in-use repair.Condition
- Shipping Info
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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 PICK UP THEIR ITEMS AT THE SALE SITE. ITEMS CAN BE PICKED UP BY APPOINTMENT OR SHIPPED STARTING FIVE DAYS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE SALE
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