�������� ����������������������������������������March 13, 2009

Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut

34 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — March 13, 2009

To Place An Ad Call 203-426-8036

************** *******************************

**********************

**********************

**********************************************

PRICE

NO

OBJECT

TIFFANY,

HANDEL,

PAIRPOINT,

GALLE,

DAUM LAMPS

AND GLASS

DR. NEIL SUPERFON2121 W. Indian School Rd.

Phoenix, AZ 850151-800-258-0216 DAYS M-F

Fax (602) 955-7046

PHYSICIAN-COLLECTOR PURCHASING

Calling yellowlegs with dropped wings by A. Elmer Crow-ell, circa 1910.

Nesting Canada goose by A. Elmer Crowell (1862–1952),East Harwich, Mass., circa 1910.

PLYMOUTH, MASS. — Sevenmajor works by famed decoycarver A. Elmer Crowell(1862–1952) of East Harwich,Mass., will be placed on the auc-tion block July 15 and 16 aspart of Copley Fine Art Auc-tions’ sporting sale at theRadisson Hotel.

Originally commissioned byprominent New Englandsportsman Harry V. Longbetween 1910 and 1920, anddescended through the Longfamily, this extraordinary grouphas never before been offered

on the market. The decoys arecurrently on public exhibit forthe first time at the Massachu-setts Audubon Visual Arts Cen-ter in Canton, Mass., throughMay 10.

Of the historic group of carv-ings, Copley Fine Art Auctions’chairman Stephen B. O’Brien Jrsaid, “This is the most impor-tant collection of A. ElmerCrowell works to have evercome up for auction. For decoycollectors, the birds are akin todiscovering the Holy Grailtimes seven. There had beenwhispers of the existence ofthese birds for years and tohave the opportunity to bringthem to market is an honor forour firm. We have estimated thegroup between $1.6 and $2.6million, collectively. However,these birds are some of the pin-nacle works by one of theworld’s most revered decoy andfolk art carvers of all time, so insome regards the estimates areirrelevant.”

Included in this iconic group isthe third and final piece ofCrowell’s famed “Long Trinity”of Canada geese –– a folky gan-der described by Crowell schol-

ar Gladys Hopkins as “the bestof the three.” Estimated at$600/900,000, this exquisitesculpture is carved in a nestingposition and is considered byexperts to be one of the finestwaterfowl carvings in existence.

The two other “Long Trinity”goose carvings are no strangersto the spotlight. The hissinggoose sold for $605,000 in April2004 at a Guyette & Schmidtauction. The preening Canadagoose was featured in the WallStreet Journal in May 2000when it sold at a Sotheby’s andGuyette & Schmidt auction fora then-record $684,500. Thesame goose appeared on thecover of the Boston Globe inSeptember 2007, when O’Brienbrokered the bird privately for$1.13 million.

Other legendary Crowelldecoys in the auction include arobust preening pintail drakewith elaborate raised wings($500/800,000). The only otherknown Crowell preening pintaildrake belonged to Field andStream editor Russell B. Aitkenand was featured in The NewYork Times in January 2003when it sold at a Christie’s and

Guyette & Schmidt auction fora then-record price of $830,000.The same bird was later sold byO’Brien, along with the preen-ing goose, for a record-tying$1.13 million.

The preening pintail drakeand folky gander are accompa-nied by a sublime swimmingblack duck and a plump mer-ganser drake with crossedraised wings ($100/200,000each).

Rounding out the seven arethree of Crowell’s finest work-ing shorebird decoys: a highlyunusual yellowlegs in a callingposition ($150/250,000) and twoclassic “dust jacket” ploverdecoys ($100/200,000 each). Theone-of-a-kind yellowlegs dis-plays a delicate open bill andretains paint identical to Crow-ell’s famous “dust jacket”plovers illustrated on the coverof William J. Mackey Jr’s Amer-ican Bird Decoys, 1965.

Consignments for the Julysporting sale are being accepteduntil April 30.

The Radisson Hotel is at 180Water Street. For information,www.copleyart.com or. 617-536-0536.

Preening pintail with raised wings by A. Elmer Crowell,circa 1910.

Magnificent Seven –– Decoys ByA. Elmer Crowell To Be Offered

Copley Fine Art Auctions’ 2009 Sporting Sale

w w w . A n t i q u e s a n d T h e A r t s . c o mOriginally Published in Antiques and The Arts Weekly, The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, CT.

Republished here with permission. May not be reproduced for further dissemination, either in print or electronically, without express permission of the publisher.