Creekside Art Gallery Blog

What is happening?  Is the NYC market strong or suffering?   Are there crowds at the auctions and shows and gallery openings?  There are a lot of us who didn’t make it to New York City this month.  Some are watching the auction sales via the internet, others are getting some word-of-mouth feedback from those of you who are there. 

Christie’s and Sotheby’s, Doyle, Outsider Art Fair, Winter Antique Show, Antiques at the Armory, TAAS American Antiques Show, and the many galleries are a mecca every January.  What has been happening?

Sotheby’s is selling about twenty lots (#248-#268) of decoys on Saturday January 24th in their annual January Americana auction.  [Sotheby's 212.606.7414 Bid Department]

Included is a very rare, early (ca 1900), and dramatic high-neck Illinois Pintail Hen; a Gus Wilson preening Hen Eider; a very rare Pair of high-neck Walter Dawson Mallards (only one dozen known); a one-of-a-kind Phillippe Sirois flying Mallard drake (purchased directly from Sirois); a pair of full-bodied Chauncey Wheeler wall plaques; shorebirds by Verity, Lincoln, Mason, Crowell and Boyd and others;  a Gus Moak hollow Canvasback drake; a pair of Hector Whittington flying Mallards; and several Crowell miniatures including three exceptional one-third size Canada Geese with three different head gestures.  Three beautiful and folky sculptural bird carvings by Frank Finney are also offered. 

Veteran collector, author and decoy expert Ronald J. Gard is the man to contact regarding decoy consignments to Sotheby’s. [Contact 214.350.2229 or 214.912.2580]

Regarding decoys, which do you think is more important, PAINT or FORM ?

A major Gus Wilson retrospective exhibition of his diverse carvings is in the  preliminary planning stages. The exhibit is being organized by Gene Kangas and John Dinan in conjunction with a Maine museum. The exact place and time is yet to be determined. Your participation is welcomed. Please email either Kangas or Dinan digital photos of Gus Wilson’s decoys as well as his bird and animal carvings in your collection. The organizers are especially interested in learning of previously unpublished and undocumented examples as a first step in surveying the range of images created by Gus Wilson during his lengthy career. Contact Gene Kangas at Kangas@CreeksideArtGallery.com or John Dinan at captdinan@yahoo.com.

"F for FAKE" is a film hosted by Orson Wells (Ovation Cable programing January 2009) on the career of the infamous  El Mir, the peerless counterfeiter of great artists’ paintings.  In the film, El Mir questioned the "expertise of the experts" since time after time no "expert" could tell the authentic from the  El Mir.

FACT:  One of the early forgers of artistic works was, Michelangelo himself.  Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni^[1] (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. (Wikipedia) 

THE PROBLEM WITH FAKES: Collectors and museum personnel have mutual interests in identifying fakes and misrepresentations.  Have any of you had experiences that you would like to share with others in an exchange of information of these topics? How do fakes affect authentic artifacts? Do fakes influence the monetary value of an entire field? How can fakes be detected? These problems are not recent. They have been going on for hundreds of years in all aspects of life – from currency to designer goods to antiques.

For example, when a significant number of fake Oscar Peterson fish decoys entered the collecting community quite a number of years ago, collector confidence in the veracity of all vintage fish decoys was shaken. Prices plummeted. Various people lost significant amounts of money. Criminal fraud was perpetrated. As a result, it has taken years for the field to begin recovering. How can real Oscar Peterson fish decoys be differentiated from fakes? 

How can fakes or misrepresentations be identified?

In your experience, how dangerous are fakes?

Following the purchase of an early Augustus "Gus" Wilson old squaw from the November 7-8, 2007 Guyette & Schmidt decoy auction in Easton, Maryland, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to examine the historical provenance of this rare decoy. This decision was influenced by the fact that we were aware of several prior ownerships not listed or identified in the auction catalog. Curiously, only one previous owner was mentioned, although additional data was readily available.

Usually the consignor provides the pertinent information that establishes the provenance to an auction house. According to Wikipedia, the free Internet encyclopedia, provenance is defined as "the origin or source from which something comes, and it can and should include the history of subsequent owners (also known in some fields as chain of custody). The term is also used in the sense of place and time of creation, production or discovery.

"The provenance of works of fine art, antiques and antiquities often assumes great importance. Documented evidence of provenance for an object can help establish that it is original, has not been altered and is not a forgery, reproduction, or stolen or looted art. The quality of provenance of an important artwork can make a considerable difference to its market value; this is affected by the degree of certainty of the provenance and the collective status of past owners as knowledgeable collectors. Provenance of a work of art may be recorded in various forms depending on context or the amount of information that is known, from a single name to a scholarly notation several thousand words long." More »

The title doesn’t refer to the NASCAR circuit or to porno; it identifies certain decoys, specifically merganser decoys. The very physical characteristics that so aptly enable American, hooded and red–breasted mergansers to be successful food gatherers often inspired the imaginations of creative decoy makers. Hooded merganser decoys are the rarest of the three. All mergansers are superb underwater swimmers and divers, possessing streamlined bodies well adapted to the task. Their long thin serrated bills enable them to capture and hold fish. Upon returning to the surface, their combs are wet and slicked back. Once dry, feathers on the back of the head grandly unfurl into fan shaped crests and coiffures suggesting the nickname "hairy heads" to some hunters. More »

Since the dawn of time, living creatures faithfully responded to seasonal climatic changes. In early spring birds gathered one by one in the South, assembling into large flocks anxious to begin their journey north. Months later, Mother Nature’s hints of approaching wintry weather urged them to once again return south. Humans always noticed and were amazed by the great migrations. There was something magical in the annual passing of massive numbers of winged travelers. Like the songbirds and waterfowl he so loved to carve, James Lapham also migrated with the seasons. More »

Jay Cooke became one of the most powerful figures in America by the mid-nineteenth century. He rubbed shoulders with the most prominent socialites, politicians, and business moguls and mucked through marshlands with local hunters, guides, and fishermen from the Mid-West to the East Coast. He was someone directly involved in the mix of dramatic historical events unfolding around him; he had power and influence.

A long-standing controversy exists regarding the identities of makers of certain styles of early Delaware River waterfowl decoys. It is referred to as "the Blair Mystery." Questions related to it have consistently ignored how the transmission or origin of design concepts occurred, perhaps resulting from a limiting regionalized focus and perspective. However, there is a significant larger picture; and, Jay Cooke is the pivotal character. More »

DR. JAMES McCLEERY "patted his feathered wooden friends goodbye" and sent them out into the world again. One by one, over thirty years, Jim had carefully selected each duck, goose and shorebird decoy he brought to his Pasadena, Texas home. Shorebirds were approximately one-half of Jim’s collection, with ducks and geese from all North American hunting regions making up the balance. His emphasis was on working decoys. They encompassed examples from the major factories as well as many prominent makers and excellent examples of unknown folk art. He loved each wooden bird nearly as much as he adored his live feathered and furred housemates. And, when his collecting was done, he determined that they go, one by one again, into new homes, those of his good friends, acquaintances, and others he had not met but who are kindred spirits. More »

Thousands of individuals and over one hundred factories produced millions of waterfowl decoys after the idea began over two millenium ago. Of that multitude of makers, how many went far beyond the typical decoy in creative efforts to make miniature ducks and other decoy related artifacts? The answer is a very small percentage. Of those, how many fashioned not only quality lures but also a wider variety of folk sculptures distinguishing them from the norm? Only a handful did and they have become recognized for their special contributions. These legends include Elmer Crowell, Ira Hudson, Charles Perdew, The Ward Brothers, Shang Wheeler and Gus Wilson, all prolific masters. More »