Benjamin Smith Merganser Hen

Benjamin D. Smith (1866-1946) Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, MA, c. 1920 A full-bodied decoy from this revered carver who taught fellow Oak Bluffs resident H. Keyes Chadwick (1865-1958) to carve decoys. Branded on the bottom "M. Luce Jr.", the Luce family was from Martha's Vineyard. Matthew Luce Jr. went to Harvard College where he was a member of the shooting club and the class of 1891. He was working at Harvard when he befriended Ellery H. Clark, class of 1896, a double Olympic gold medal winner, who was also working at the college after graduation. The two were legendary sea duck shooters from their gunning stand in Cohassett. Excerpts from their hunting journals were published by Capt. Ellery H. Clark Jr., who as a youth hunted with them. Decoys from their rig are found with both Luce and Clark brands. Original paint with heavy gunning wear, a repaired neck, and an age line along the back.

Provenance: Mark R. Mahoney Collection

Literature: Stanley Murphy, "Martha's Vineyard Decoys," Boston, MA, 1978, p. 108, plate 85, similar decoy illustrated.

Provenance

Mark R. Mahoney Collection