The Barber-O'Brien Ruddy Duck Lee Dudley (1860-1942)

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The Sporting Sale 2017, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 27, 2017 - Jul 28, 2017

Set Reminder 2017-07-27 13:00:00 2017-07-28 13:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2017, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2017-day-1-2501
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• Lot Description

  The Barber-O'Brien Ruddy Duck
  Lee Dudley (1860-1942)
  Knotts Island, NC, c. 1895
  10 in. long
  
  “Dudley’s ruddy ducks, usually signed LD, are the best of their kind, and everything a ruddy duck should be… as many a collector has discovered, they are not only rare, they are virtually nonexistent.” - Adele Earnest
  
  Lee Dudley carvings have been held in the highest regard since the first days of decoy collecting. In fact, the first two definitive publications on the subject, Joel Barber’s "Wild Fowl Decoys" (1934) and William J. Mackey’s "American Bird Decoys" (1965) both begin their first chapter with stories of Dudley decoys and the authors' reverence for them. Barber's particular love of Dudleys is illustrated in the first three plates of his book; the first of which depicts two rigmate ruddy ducks, now held in the Shelburne Museum, prominently displayed top and center on his collection wall. As one of O’Brien’s favorite decoys, this bird was featured in a similar place of prominence, front and center on an important shelf.
  
  In Wild Fowl Decoys, Barber recounts acquiring this exact decoy on a visit to Knotts Island in the 1920s. The island is a small and remote place between Back Bay and Currituck Sound on the easternmost border of Virginia and North Carolina. It is here he recalls “...I add to my collection a group of old-time Ruddy Duck. They were very old and of singular perfection. As a collector I was elated for Ruddies are among the rarest decoys on the whole Atlantic Seaboard. But that does not complete the story.”
  
  Shortly after his discovery Barber is led to meet the bird’s maker. “Mr. Dudley is a very understanding person.” He continues, whose “talk held steadily on ducks and decoys. The old Ruddy started a train of reminiscence covering years of Virginia gunning. I learned first hand of days when Boobies (Ruddy) sold for only five cents apiece, barely enough to pay for ‘loading the shells’; during the nineties, the price went to a dollar apiece, and the gunners called them ‘dollar ducks.’” It is at this time he gleans the “pedigree” of the rig: “…in 1913 the whole Dudley rig had been sold to [a Knotts Island] club at the then prevailing price of fifty cents apiece.”
  
  Barber closes his reminiscences stating that his acquisitions “... will never go overboard again; nor hear the roar of guns overhead. Scarred and faded but still intrepid, they were off to see the world in a knobby burlap bag - to use the familiar term - ‘collected.’” This marks one of the very first formal accounts of a decoy being collected.
  
  With its form and provenance, this decoy is considered by many to be the pinnacle Dudley and the pinnacle North Carolina carving held in private hands. William J. Mackey, Jr., in “American Bird Decoys,” was so impressed with Dudley's work that he wrote, “the heads on Dudley’s decoys are the finest the writer has ever seen.”
  
  The Dudley decoy has always been known for its bold, singular form and this carving exemplifies all of the desirable attributes one looks for. To draw from Gene and Linda Kangas’ "Decoys: A North American Survey,“ "A visual study of the complete Dudley bird form, whatever the species, reveals an uninterrupted flow from bill tip to tail’s end. The successful manner in which the bill fits into the lower cheeks, the cut of the neck-base, sweeping powerful chest, and smooth, curved body combine into one of the finer sculptural solutions in the decoy world...The Dudley carving style consistently depicts both the head and body forms as a totality, resulting in a fine sculptural portrait…”
  
  In 1981, a panel made up of sixteen of the top decoy collectors and experts reviewed the 1,362 decoys then held in the Shelburne Museum collection. The panel consisted of George Coombs, John Dinan, Joe Duggan, Tim Eastland, Henry Fleckenstein, Jr., Robyn Hardy, Somers Headley, Dixon Merkt, Donal O’Brien, Jr., Bobby Richardson, Robin Starr, Ron Swanson, Bill Purnell, Jeff Waingrow, and Bud Ward. When the data from the weekend was collected and tallied, fourteen of the sixteen experts voted the Barber Dudley ruddy duck as the most important decoy in the collection. The almost unanimous vote is noteworthy as the Dudley ruddy duck topped the Osgood geese, Shang Wheeler’s swimming mallard pair, and the Barnes/Holly swan, among many others.
  
  The form, execution, provenance, and rarity of this coveted Knotts Island ruddy duck make it perhaps the most exciting Southern decoy ever offered for auction. The underside retains Lee Dudley’s coveted “L D” brand and O’Brien’s collection stamp, between these key markers of ownership lies an impeccable provenance, of utmost importance when considering any Dudley acquisition. This marks the first time that this decoy has ever been available for public sale.
  Original paint with heavy gunning wear. Original bill with with shot scar, putty along right edge, and some touch-up. One-half tail repair to upper right side.
  
  Provenance: Lee Dudley Rig
  A Knotts Island Gunning Club Rig, acquired from the above, 1913
  Joel Barber Collection, acquired from the above, c. 1925
  Thomas Marshall Collection, gifted from the above Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Collection, acquired from the above
  
  Literature: Joel Barber, "Wild Fowl Decoys," New York, NY, 1954, plate 1 (top row, 2nd to the left), rigmate illustrated.
  Laurence Sheehan, "The Birding Life," New York, NY, 2011, pp. 92-93, exact decoy illustrated.
  Loy S. Harrell, Jr., Decoys: North America’s One Hundred Greatest, Iola, WI, 2000, pp. 50-51, exact decoy illustrated. Jackson Parker, “Shelburne Museum,” North American Decoys, Spanish Fork, UT, Fall & Winter 1981, pp. 22-26, rigmate illustrated. EXHIBITED: New York, New York, The Art of the American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien Jr., Museum of American Folk Art, September 3–November 8, 1981.

  Condition

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