Primitive, Modern, Folk Art

Commercial gunners harvested ducks by the boat-loads, throughout New England—the Atlantic Flyway. Hunters set great rigs of decoys in marshy waters to tease the wildfowl with in reach of their guns. And they weren’t shooting 12 gauge, Remington Wingmasters; these turret-mounted cannons, or punt guns, had barrels you could nearly fit your fist in. A single blast could knock a dozen birds from the sky.

When congress outlawed commercial duck hunting in the early twentieth century, tens of thousands of duck decoys were heaped in barns, discarded, added to piles of firewood. Somewhere along the line, somebody set one of those old decoys on their shelf; just liked the look of it. And then one showed up in a decorating magazine, then another.

Antique dealers began knocking on doors, inquiring if they might peek in the barn in search of these discarded treasures. Along about the sixties, decoy collecting was a popular pastime for retired dentists and the like. A very good decoy could be had for fifty bucks. A really special one could go for two-fifty. Last year (2007) a fella paid $856,000 for a Red Breasted Merganser decoy, carved by Lothrop Holmes. That makes you think twice before complaining about inflation of gas prices.

That’s a world record price. But excellent decoys frequently fetch over $1,000, and there is a long history of very rare examples going for four and five figures. That’s what began the art of bird carving. Collectors who realized their antique Brant decoy could buy them a new Mercedes would sell it, but not before making a copy. Since there was no utility in the decoys anymore, they might add a detail here or there. The next one might be more realistic. Before long they weren’t ‘making decoys’ they were carving birds, in great detail, of all species—game birds, shore birds, raptors.

So, folk art gave way to wildlife art. And many early collectors chose a lucrative hobby, as it turned out.

As for me, I see something very different in these hunting tools—neither folk art nor wildlife art. My favorites are, modern art. Some might not agree, but I stand by it. They are abstract.

It doesn’t take absolute realism to fool a duck. Just some basic functionality: They shouldn’t be too shiny. They should have the general posture of the species. They should be placed appropriately and look calm. But there is a great room for artistic expression once the basics of a functional decoy have been achieved.

This gap between function and form, forced a choice by each maker. Would they render it realistically? Would they render their impression? The chose of many is subtle abstraction—the simplification of and reinterpretation of form. Ironically, some call these ‘primitive’ as I call them modern (art). I take great pleasure in seeing such expressions of a decoy maker; knowing they added their own version of beauty, not out of necessity, but just because.

Pictured at top right is an photo of an Eider and Eider Decoy. Below that is a is a photo of a Goldeneye and three interpretations of the same.


Guyette & Schmidt are the premiere auctioneers of hunting decoys and often hold auctions in association with Christie’s. Take a look at their website.