Elmer Crowell Life-size Reaching Black Duck

A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1912 An exceptional and early painted sculpture by the “father” of modern bird carving. Over the course of his lifetime, Crowell produced numerous decorative black duck carvings, perhaps none as bold and full-bodied as this reaching bird. Most likely carved to emulate a late season “Canadian red-leg” black duck, the carving measures a full 19 inches from the tip of the bill to the tail. This animated black duck was made at roughly the same time as his famous hissing spread-wing Canada goose illustrated as a two page spread on the title page of the Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys. Both birds display an unusual arched neck reaching form rarely seen in Crowell’s carvings.

Crowell was very familiar with the anatomy of black ducks; despite being an exceptionally wary species, his yearly bag was almost always predominantly black ducks and Canada geese. This reaching black duck carving reveals Crowell’s remarkable ability to capture birds in motion. Applying his very best feather paint to the entire body, meticulous “ticking” to the head, and perfect bill and feet coloring, the amount of care that Crowell took in creating this piece is readily apparent. Other subtleties to the carving include meticulous bill detail, precise raised primaries, and delineated tail feathers. After securely mounting the bird on a wood base designed to emulate a rock, Crowell signed the bottom of the base using his newly fashioned oval brand. The oval brand (see detail) on the bottom of this bird along with the brand on the bottom of the Great Blue Heron, originally made for Mrs. Charles Hardy which now resides in Vermont’s Shelburne Museum, are two of Crowell’s earliest strikes using this marking method. It is worth noting that the original owner received a “good deal” when purchasing this decorative black duck. In faded pencil the price of “$15” appears below the oval brand. In excellent original paint with a minute touch up to the underside of the nail at the end of the bill; a hairline crack at the neck seam; two small dents on the back less than a quarter inch each and a faint age line along the back; a tight age crack (typical of carvings this wide) runs the length of the underside and has been professionally filled; a few drops of candle wax on the back and neck; a small amount of gesso loss to the feet has been professionally touched up.

Provenance: Purchased by J.B. Linsmayer in 1959 at a Minneapolis art gallery. Linsmayer was a close friend of Jimmy Robinson, the famous sporting author and editor of Sports Afield Magazine and founder of the Sports Afield Duck Club. Located on the Delta Marsh in Manitoba province, the Sports Afield Club included Ernest Hemingway, Clark Gable, and Ted Williams among its notable guests.

Literature: Brian Cullity, The Songless Aviary, Hyannis, MA, 1992, pp. 40, 82, 83. Joseph Engers, ed., The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys, San Diego, CA, title page.

Provenance

Purchased by J.B. Linsmayer in 1959 at a Minneapolis art gallery. Linsmayer was a close friend of Jimmy Robinson, the famous sporting author and editor of Sports Afield Magazine and founder of the Sports Afield Duck Club. Located on the Delta Marsh in Manitoba province, the Sports Afield Club included Ernest Hemingway, Clark Gable, and Ted Williams among its notable guests.