Lee Dudley Redhead Drake

Lee Dudley (1860-1942) Knotts Island, NC, c. 1890 12 1/4 in long

This bird is one of the finest examples of a Dudley redhead ever to come to light and was made for Dudley’s personal gunning rig. The redhead decoys from this rig represent some of the earliest and rarest of Dudley’s carvings and can be distinguished by their smooth humpbacks and painted eyes upon the stylishly carved heads. Birds from this famous early rig bear Dudley’s original “L D” brand on the bottom.

Over the decades O'Brien owned numerous Dudley decoys and described this one as the "nicest Dudley redhead I have seen." In working repaint worn to wood in places with heavy gunning wear, reset neck, age line in bill, wear to tail edges.

Provenance: Lee Dudley Rig A Knotts Island Gunning Club Rig, acquired from the above, 1913 Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection

Provenance

Lee Dudley Rig A Knotts Island Gunning Club Rig, acquired from the above, 1913 Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection