Lot Essay
It is unclear whether this was made as a decorative carving or as a confidence decoy. The detailed crest and tail feather carving are typical of Crowell's working decoys.
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ELMER CROWELL (1862-1952), EAST HARWICH, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1890'S
Details
AN EXTREMELY RARE GREAT GREY HERON
Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), East Harwich, Massachusetts, circa 1890's
Carved wooden body with wooden thighs. Iron legs are inserted into the wooden thighs and wrapped with string. The lifted leg has an iron foot. The leg attached to the wooden base has a foot made from three pieces of wood. A lead plate has been attached to the underside with small copper nails. Dry on dry feather painting on breast is typical of Crowell's earliest shorebirds.
Original paint with significant discoloration and shrinkage. Wear on the back. Numerous cracks. Two filled cracks in neck. Filled split in back.
45 inches high
Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), East Harwich, Massachusetts, circa 1890's
Carved wooden body with wooden thighs. Iron legs are inserted into the wooden thighs and wrapped with string. The lifted leg has an iron foot. The leg attached to the wooden base has a foot made from three pieces of wood. A lead plate has been attached to the underside with small copper nails. Dry on dry feather painting on breast is typical of Crowell's earliest shorebirds.
Original paint with significant discoloration and shrinkage. Wear on the back. Numerous cracks. Two filled cracks in neck. Filled split in back.
45 inches high
Provenance
Adele Earnest
Literature
Adele Earnest, Folk Art In America, A Personal View (Exton, PA, 1984), p. 139.
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