PLYMOUTH, Mass. – On Thursday, July 13 and Friday, July 14, Copley Fine Art Auctions, the nation’s premier decoy and sporting art auction house, will hold its 18th annual Sporting Sale. This major auction, consisting of more than 515 lots, will offer buyers the opportunity to acquire exceptional paintings, antique decoys, bird carvings, folk art and powder tins from important curated collections. Veteran auctioneer Peter Cocculuto will once again wield the gavel, and the auction will begin at 10 am Eastern time on both days. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The auction will include offerings from estates and collections including Thomas M. Evans Jr.; a descendant of Charles Porter Schutt and Phyllis Moxham du Pont; a descendant of Thomas Coleman du Pont, and a number of other private collections.
Leading the unparalleled Evans collection decoy lineup is the McCleery eider, estimated at $800,000-$1.2 million. This iconic decoy was first collected by Dr. James M. McCleery, who was among the greatest of decoy connoisseurs from any era. Historian and curator Robert Shaw worked with both McCleery and his decoys on numerous occasions and explained that the doctor “considered this particular decoy the finest he owned, and, because of his devotion to it, the McCleery Family withheld it from the auction of his collection.” Shaw states, “This is arguably the most sophisticated of all eider decoys, with flowing lines and stylized abstract paint worthy of a Zen calligrapher.”
Coming from the same esteemed shelves is the Earnest-Gregory-McCleery dovetailed goose, which has an estimate of $600,000-$900,000, boasts extensive detail, anatomical accuracy and a strong provenance. The bird’s only comparable sold for more than $810,000 in 2018. Famed collector, folk art dealer and author Adele Earnest (1901–1993) owned both of the dovetailed geese and credits them for inspiring her “subsequent devotion to the decoy as an art.”
Another important Canada goose from this collection is the sleeping goose by Charles A. Safford (1877–1957) which has an estimate of $500,000-$800,000. It drew the acclaim of renowned decoy historian Gigi Hopkins, who described it as ” … a drop-to-your-knees bird,” further stating, “It leaps into the pantheon of the greatest American goose decoys ever made, sculpture and function in perfect marriage.” This goose sculpture epitomizes the decoy as American folk art.
In addition to these three important carvings, 13 other pinnacle lots by top masters such as Gus Wilson, Joseph Lincoln, Thomas Chambers, “Shang” Wheeler, Harry V. Shourds, Os Bibber and George Boyd will be offered from this legendary collection.
Preening pintail hen decoy by Charles Perdew, estimated at $70,000-$100,000. Courtesy Copley Fine Art Auctions
Shoring up the auction’s Midwestern decoy offerings is the preening pintail hen by Charles H. Perdew (1874–1963), featured in the Masterworks of the Illinois River book. Many consider it Perdew’s finest pintail; it will appear in the sale lineup with an estimate of $70,000-$100,000. Another Perdew rarity to hit the block will be the only known preening black duck. Illustrated in Masterworks, it showcases Charlie and Edna at the height of their respective crafts. Its estimate is $40,000-$60,000.
Top fine art highlights include Autumn Woodcock Shooting, estimated at $70,000-$90,000, an iconic watercolor and gouache by Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928) from Scribner’s Shooting Pictures series, along with an oil on board of quail and chicks by American master painter Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819–1905), estimated at $20,000-$30,000, and Dove Shooting, a watercolor by Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896–1969) that is estimated at $30,000-$50,000.
These pinnacle works hail from the collection of Charles Porter Schutt and Phyllis Moxham du Pont, daughter of Eugene E. du Pont. The couple shared a profound love of the outdoors and the sport of shooting. These fresh-to-market paintings have descended in the family.
A late addition to the auction, A.B. Frost’s Winter Golf – Play the Like in Four!, estimated at $30,000-$50,000, is sure to entice the golfing set. The gouache depicts the artist along with his two sons.
The sale will also include a number of works by renowned sporting artists such as Ogden Pleissner, Frank Benson, David Hagerbaumer, Richard Bishop, Lynn Bogue Hunt, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Charles Morris Young and Robert Kennedy Abbett. Paintings by noted contemporary artists such as Ewoud de Groot, Brett Smith, Chet Reneson and Mike Stidham will also be offered.
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