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THBThe O'Brien Wright Ruddy Duck Decoy, Alvery "Alvirah" Wright (1872-1951)
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 19, 2021
Lots 1-292 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (292)
- Lot Description
Alvery "Alvirah" Wright (1872-1951)
Duck, NC, c. 1900
10 3/4 in. long
"...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
Captain Al, as Wright was known by his contemporaries, was a boatbuilder and tugboat captain. During North Carolina's booming waterfowl days, he applied his skills to a limited number of decoys. Past Shelburne Museum curator Robert Shaw observes, "His ruddy ducks, redheads, and canvasbacks can be described only as mighty; even the tiny ruddies have a visceral, almost monumental physical presence achieved by few other carvers, with deep, solid, boat-shaped bodies, sharply sloping lower sides, and powerfully angular heads." As Shaw suggests, North Carolina collector and author Kroghie Andresen states directly, "The Wright ruddy ducks have the best form of all the species that he carved."
Since Joel Barber's historic collecting trip to Knotts Island approximately a century ago, the rare ruddy duck decoys have been a prized export, and Wright is among the species' best representatives. These high heads were often broken and lost, making this decoy that kept its original head all the more impressive. This grand humpbacked decoy from the O'Brien Collection was chosen for Fleckenstein's "Southern Decoys" book and is among the finest intact Wrights to have survived.
Old gunning paint with wear, including small chips on top left side of head and an old stabilizing nail remaining in chips along top of tail.
Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection
Ronald Swanson Collection
Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection
Literature: Henry A. Fleckenstein Jr., "Southern Decoys of Virginia and The Carolinas," Exton, PA, 1983, pl. XLV, p. 48, exact decoy illustrated. Kroghie Andresen, "Gunnin' Birds," Charlotte, NC, 2008, pp. 275-276, related examples illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 218, Wright ruddy ducks discussed. Robert Shaw, "Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.," Houston, TX, 1992, p. 87, closely related example illustrated.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.Condition
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