Standing Green-Winged Teal Pair by Dean Brown (1913-1978)

Lot 102

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 2023, Day 1 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2023, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 24, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-02-24 10:00:00 2023-02-24 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2023, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2023-day-1-11939 Lots 1-337 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Standing Green-Winged Teal Pair
Dean Brown (1913-1978)
Alameda, CA, c. 1940
11 1/2 in. long

The decoys and rare decoratives of "Mr. Brown from Alameda'' were "One of our most exciting and frustrating discoveries"during the research of the first West Coast book as reported by the authors. "Exciting because the birds exhibit fine craftsmanship and beauty, and frustrating because we have not been able, even with dedicated help to fully identify the carver." This teal pair were the only decoratives illustrated in the pages dedicated to "Mr. Brown'' in the definitive 1989 publication.

This folky pair appears again in Michael Miller's California book in 2015, once again as the only decoratives illustrated, but presented with new information on this important Golden State carver and Depression-era waterfowling bandit. Copley is excited to debut the work of Dean Brown to the decoy auction market nearly a century after he began carving.

A man of many applied talents in addition to decoy making and gunning, Brown was a taxidermist and a boatbuilder, among other occupations. He gave up his outlaw market gunning in 1938 as legal perils closed in around him; fortuitously, he turned to professional decoy carving.

This turned-head standing decorative pair balance on poured-lead feet similar to that seen in the works of Ira Hudson. Each of the balsa bodies are finished with fanned tail feathers and extensive feather painting. This well-documented and historically important pair is among the Pacific's finest vintage decorative bird carvings.
Original paint with even wear and some flaking around putty at legs. Some fill at hen's legs.

Provenance: Richard and Dorothy Wheeler Collection

Literature: Michael R. Miller, "Wildfowl Decoys of California,"Spokane, WA, 2015, p. 239, exact carvings illustrated. Michael R. Miller and Frederick W. Hanson, "Wildfowl Decoys of the Pacific Coast,"Portland, OR, 1989, p. 214, exact carvings 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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