Mr. Webster Webster Calling Golden Plover

Mr. Webster Nantucket, MA, c. 1850 10 in. long

A rare Nantucket plover from the iconic Webster rig with an applied head in an uplifted and turned pose. The smooth body is finished with stylish spring plumage and split-tail carving. Original paint with gunning wear and a reset neck.

Provenance: Franklin Folger Webster Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts Honorable J. William Middendorf II Collection Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the sale of the above

Literature: Joe Engers, “Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,” Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 8, exact decoy and rigmate illustrated. Richard A. Bourne Co., Inc., "Very Rare and Important American Bird Decoys from the Collection of the late William J. Mackey Jr. of Belford, New Jersey," Hyannis, MA, 1973, Session III, lot 320, rigmate illustrated. Jeff Waingrow, “The American Decoy: Folk Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donal C. O’Brien, Jr.,” The Clarion: America’s Folk Art Magazine, Fall 1981, p. 30, rigmate illustrated. Jackson Parker, “O’Brien Classic Decoys on Display at Museum of American Folk Art,” North American Decoys Magazine, Spring/Summer 1982, p. 34, rigmate illustrated. Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 79, two O'Brien rigmates illustrated. Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys, Sessions I-II," July 27, 2017, inside front cover, six rigmates illustrated in O’Brien’s living room.

Provenance

Franklin Folger Webster Collection, Nantucket, Massachusetts Honorable J. William Middendorf II Collection Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the sale of the above