1960s Decoys

Vintage Red Breasted Merganser Drake Decoy, circa 1960s - 1970s, a hand carved and hand painted red breasted merganser drake decoy in a swimming posture with slightly turned and canted head, with carved crest, bill mandible and nares, glass eyes, bold black and white paint with red highlights. Beautiful decoy done in the racy Canadian Maritimes style. The posture with head both slightly turned to the left, and slightly canted or cocked to the left as well, is a delightful tricked learned from the great Maine decoy...

Carved and Painted Black Duck Decoy, by Pat Gardner, Nantucket, circa 1960s, a carved wooden working decoy style black duck with head set well back on shelf in the content posture, with carved mandible and nares, on plump body with paddle tail, signed M.P. Gardner Nantucket on the bottom, and retaining an old sticker inscribed "Gaillard." This is believed to be the only duck decoy that Pat ever made. amongst all her shorebird carvings. The decoy is extremely heavy, as if carved from a solid block of lignum vitae, ebony or the like. Mary Patricia Gardner was born and lived her whole life on Nantucket. She studied under Frank Swift Chase, Ruth Haviland Sutton and Earl S. Ray, and was influenced by her grandfather Wallace Gardner, who was a trained sculptor. She became a member of the Artists Association of Nantucket in 1947. She was best known for her shorebird carvings, but also worked in watercolor and printmaking. She is viewed as one of the greater talents of her generation on Nantucket. Her work is highly sought after but only rarely appears on the market. This bird is from the personal collection of the late Nantucket antiques...

Vintage hand carved sperm whale by Nantucket artist William J. Dickson, 1967, a smoothly carved pine sperm whale with upraised flukes and open mouth...