Exemplary Dowitcher by A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)

Lot 363

About Seller

20 Winter Street
Pembroke, MA 02359
United States

Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more

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About Auction

The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 21, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-02-21 10:00:00 2026-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2026, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2026-day-2-22164 Lots 301-368 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Exemplary Dowitcher
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1910
12 1/4 in. long

Crowell started out in his teens as a market hunter and a pioneering keeper of live waterfowl. These passions helped Crowell to develop an intrinsic knowledge of both waterfowl and other birds. His familiarity with bird anatomy enabled Crowell to create carved wood sculptures that bear exceptional likeness to their species.

This rare and important working Crowell dowitcher decoy displays split-tail carving with painted primaries and richly blended feathering detail. It is challenging to find early examples of this species by Crowell as he concentrated primarily on black-bellied plover and yellowlegs during the first quarter of the 20th century. Some, including Delph, identify birds from this rig as yellowlegs.

Describing a similar decoy from the Museum of American Folk Art Collection in his book, "American Wildfowl Decoys," Jeff Waingrow writes, "Crowell's dowitcher decoy is a transitional carving, displaying the virility of his earlier work with a measure of new refinement found in the later examples. It possesses enough of the best qualities from each period, however, to deserve a place among the finer examples of Crowell shorebirds."
Excellent original paint with light gunning wear, two hairline cracks in neck.

Provenance: Private Collection, Cape Cod

Literature: John and Shirley Delph, "New England Decoys," Exton, PA, 1981, p. 153, exact decoy illustrated (identified as a yellowlegs). Paul A. Johnsgard, "The Bird Decoy: An American Art Form," Lincoln, NE, 1976, p. 20 B, similar decoy illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, "American Wildfowl Decoys," New York, NY, 1989, p. 97, similar example illustrated. Brian Cullity, "The Songless Aviary: The World of A.E. Crowell & Son," Sandwich, MA, 1992, p. 49, pl. 1, similar bird illustrated. Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2019, p. 213, related dowitcher illustrated.

Condition

Please refer to the description; if you have additional questions, email colin@copleyart.com.
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