Gus Wilson Breast-preening Eider Drake

Augustus “Gus” Aaron Wilson (1864-1950) South Portland, ME, c. 1910 An exceptional breast-preening eider drake exhibiting the maker’s finest form. This boldly carved coastal gunning decoy measures a full 18 inches in length and a stout 9 inches in width. The bird is carved perfectly to scale with its content head inletted in the body. The decoy's clean lines flow over its raised wings through to its uplifted tail.

Wilson was born “Down East,” on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Though he is foremost remembered as carver, he was also a boat builder, waterman, outdoorsman, and lighthouse keeper. He was an attendant to a number of Maine’s lighthouses, including the Great Duck Island Light, Goose Rocks Station on Fox Island, Two Lights Station on Cape Elizabeth, Marshall Point Light at Port Clyde and lastly Spring Point Light in Casco Bay. According to art historian Gene Kangas, “his job as a lighthouse keeper provided financial security and ample time to facilitate rapid artistic advancement. Imaginative decoys and wildlife carvings being shaped in an incredible variety of poses.”

Kangas describes Wilson as an esteemed fixture of Americana. Early regional traditions and requirements drove carvers to produce big, solid decoys with modest paint patterns. “Seaworthiness, durability, practicality, effectiveness and affordability were essential considerations...Wilson’s genius is demonstrated by his ability to work within those existing traditions, yet elevate the Maine decoy to a higher level of artistic achievement.”

Wilson’s interests were, by no means, limited to decoys. He carved a variety of songbirds, decoratives, weathervanes, and big cats. A pair of Wilson’s tigers are featured in the "American Identities" exhibit, on display as a part of the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York. Original paint with white areas successfully taken down to original, and gunning wear.