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THBThe Connett Wheeler Black Duck Decoy by Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)
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
LiveJul 13, 2023
Lots 1-243 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (243)
- Lot Description
The Connett Wheeler Black Duck
Charles "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)
Stratford, CT, c. 1940
18 1/2 in. long
“To Eugene V. Connett, with my compliments. It is wide and flat as Doctor Burke would like it, with a lifelike pose as Lynn Hunt would like it, painted something like a Black Duck as I would like it and a bit oversize so you will like it.” I HOPE YOU DO ‘Shang’” — “Shang” Wheeler, remark written on the bottom of The Connett Wheeler Black Duck
None other than “Shang” Wheeler himself deemed this decoy to be the best of his abilities. On the underside of the decoy, Wheeler confides in Connett and invokes their peers’ preferences: “To Eugene V. Connett, with my compliments. It is wide and flat as Doctor Burke would like it, with a lifelike pose as Lynn Hunt would like it, painted something like a Black Duck as I would like it and a bit oversize so you will like it.” I HOPE YOU DO ‘Shang.’”
Everyone named in the above inscription contributed to Eugene V. Connett’s 1940s classic “Duck Shooting Along the Atlantic Tidewater.” One chapter was even penned by A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952). Many within the decoy collecting field consider this bird to be the finest Shang Wheeler black duck known to exist.
Excellent original paint with light wear.
Provenance: Eugene V. Connett Collection
Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection
Thomas M. Evans Jr. Collection
Literature: Charles E. Wheeler and Eugene V. Connett, ed., "Duck Shooting Along the Atlantic Tidewater," New York, NY, 1947, pp. 72-74, Wheeler’s decoys illustrated and discussed.
Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2018, p. 170, exact decoy 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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