Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819-1905)
Duck Shooting, 1874
signed and dated "A.F. Tait. N.Y 1874" lower right
oil on canvas, 20 by 30 in.
also titled "Retrieving a Duck," this painting is recorded as No. 20 in Tait's register: "20 Duck Shooting 20 x 30 Canvas Dog swimming Dead Duck in water others flying 2 men in Boat in Rushes in Background. Snedicors Sale."

Tait's dealer, John Snedecor, was a leading fine art dealer in New York in the 1850s–1870s, handling both European and American paintings. At one time, his gallery was located at 768 Broadway, and Tait routinely misspelled his name in the register of works.

A related painting of two hunters, dog, and ducks titled "Duck Hunting with Decoys" set the record for any Tait waterfowling piece in 2006, selling for $856,000.

Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, Inc., New York
Mr. George A. Butler, Houston, Texas, circa 1960
Private Collection, by descent from the above
Sotheby's, New York, 30 November 1989, lot 74
Private Collection, Weston, Massachusetts


Literature: "A. F. Tait: Artist in the Adirondacks," The Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, NY, 1974.Warder H. Cadbury and Henry F. Marsh, "Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait: Artist in the Adirondacks," Newark, DE, 1986, p. 229, no. 74.11, illustrated.

Please email condition report requests to leah@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.