The Mackey-Wheeler Goose Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)

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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 Mackey-Wheeler Goose
  Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler (1872-1949)
  Stratford, CT, c. 1935
  30 in. long
  
  “The decoy that I liked best of all in Bill Mackey’s collection.” - Donal C. O’Brien, Jr.
  
  The singularity of this Canada goose separates it from most pinnacle geese by other makers. The one-of-a-kind nature of this decoy, combined with it’s important Mackey-O’Brien provenance, place this as one of the most prized goose decoys in existence.
  
  This racy goose decoy is perhaps the grandest Connecticut decoy known. No other Shang Wheeler goose exists that is remotely like it. In both form and paint the bird exhibits bold features with subtle refinements. This description could also describe the bird's maker, “The Gentleman Carver from Connecticut,” himself.
  
  Charles Edward "Shang" Wheeler is widely recognized as the most celebrated bird carver from Connecticut. While his predecessor Albert Laing (1811-1886) is credited with originating the Connecticut style, and Benjamin Holmes (1843-1912), Laing's successor, made early gunning decoys of exceptional quality, it was Wheeler who took the craft to the next level. He introduced innovative carving and painting techniques and created everything from sandhill cranes to sailfish. Shang, as everyone called him, was an enigmatic figure: oysterman, politician, boxer, cartoonist, public speaker, conservationist, and world-renowned decoy carver.
  
  Not surprisingly, O’Brien was drawn to Shang, with whom he shared many passions. Author Dixon Merkt remarked on Wheeler’s life: "Wheeler’s concern with the conservation of nature eventually led him into politics. Over the years he had come to know and admire Teddy Roosevelt, and as a politician he adopted Roosevelt’s brand of progressive Republicanism. Himself a skilled ornithologist, former cowboy, and avid sportsman, Roosevelt had made conservation one cornerstone of his political platform. Wheeler followed in his footsteps. During several terms in the Connecticut General Assembly he led the campaign to pass anti-pollution and wildlife conservation legislation.
  
  Unlike Teddy Roosevelt, Wheeler had no driving ambitions for public office. He went into politics because he wanted to clean up Connecticut’s harbors and rivers...His ties to Roosevelt and later to Herbert Hoover might have lead him to high government office, if that had been his goal. But Wheeler was satisfied with the life he had built for himself around Stratford. He had many good friends; his work kept him outdoors; and each year he had time for hunting and fishing trips."
  
  A look at Wheeler’s carving career reveals that in 1923 he arrived on the competition carving scene with a bang. A newly formed conservation group led by Joel Barber called the Anti-Dusker Society sponsored one of the first decoy shows in the country in Bellport, Long Island. A carving competition held at the event was geared towards the hunters in attendance to further advance the concept of shooting over decoys.
  
  The inaugural event attracted amateur and professional carvers from near and far, and it was Wheeler who took home top amateur honors. Joel Barber stated that Wheeler’s model had demonstrated “the highest development yet reached in the American art of decoy carving.” According to Merkt, “Wheeler carted off first prize at Bellport because he had introduced a new style to decoy painting.”
  
  This grand goose, measuring 30 inches in length, is a full four inches longer than the maker’s typical goose pattern. The hollow body features Wheeler's most intricate carving with crisp raised wings and pronounced separation down the back, leading forward to a recessed neck seat. The head is turned 45 degrees to the left and features full cheeks and carved bill detail. The surface was finished with the maker’s subtle and masterful feather painting. The bottom board features the Mackey Collection ink stamp.
  In excellent original paint with even gunning wear, original reset bill with touch-up.
  
  Provenance: William J. Mackey, Jr. Collection
  Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection
  
  Literature: Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., "Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey, Jr., of Belford, New Jersey," Hyannis, MA, Session V, July 10, 1974, front cover and lot 501, exact decoy illustrated.
  William J. Mackey, Jr., American Bird Decoys, New York, NY, 1965, p. 70, plate 50, exact decoy illustrated. Quintina Colio, American Decoys, Ephrata, PA, 1972, p. 34, exact decoy illustrated. Laurence Sheehan, The Birding Life, New York, NY, 2011, p. 95, exact decoy illustrated. Dixon MacD. Merkt, Shang: A Biography of Charles E. Wheeler, Spanish Fork, UT, 1984, p. 77, color plate XXII, exact decoy illustrated. Peter Johnson and Alf Wannenburgh, The World of Shooting, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1987, pp. 259-261, exact decoy 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

  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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