Robert Elliston The "masterworks" Elliston Preening Mallard

Robert Elliston (1847-1925) Bureau, IL, c. 1890 14 1/2 in. long

painted by Catherine Elliston (1858-1953)

While discussing this decoy in the 2005 "Masterworks of the Illinois River," the authors state, "The case can be made that hen mallards are among the finest decoys that Elliston ever produced." Indeed, this exact decoy leads the richly illustrated chapter on the Ellistons. The form, paint, exhibition history, provenance, and condition place this carving at the apex of works from this region.

Widely regarded as the founders of the Illinois River professional decoy carving tradition, the duo of Robert and Catherine Elliston set the standard against which all Illinois River decoys are measured. Like Lem and Steve Ward from Crisfield, Maryland, and a number of Illinois River decoy makers to follow, they divided the carving and painting roles. Robert applied his honed woodworking skills, while Catherine proved herself to be one of the finest decoy painters of all time.

Robert Elliston was born in Kentucky in 1849. In his late teens, he apprenticed as a carriage-maker at the Studebaker woodworking shop in South Bend, Indiana. He moved on to work for Henry Olds and later the McLaren Hearse and Coach Manufacturing Company. Working as a carriage-maker with shops in New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, Elliston became a seasoned woodworker, a skill that would later serve him greatly.

Robert and Catherine married, staying in Lacon briefly before moving to the Undercliff Hotel on Lake Senachwine, near Putnam, Illinois. It is likely that while still living in Lacon, Catherine saw the decoys of Steven Lane (1843-1900), and the crisp paint applied to his decoys resonated with her. Situated in the heart of the Midwest Flyway, the Ellistons’ legacy began to take shape.

Catherine applied sophisticated, yet graceful, paint patterns that are virtually unequalled by any of her contemporaries, with the exception of Edna Perdew. She developed her own techniques of scratch feathering that echo the finest grain-painted chests of Pennsylvania made during the mid-nineteenth century. Implementing a metal grain-comb to help suggest feathering and to give the decoys a more realistic look, her painting techniques were later copied by Millie Graves and other painters up and down the Illinois River and beyond.

It is no secret among collectors that Catherine Elliston and Edna Perdew (1882-1974) used hens to showcase their abilities. While most decoy painters shied away from the difficulties of painting a hen’s plumage, these two women embraced the challenge, defining the paint of the region. Indeed, today the world records set for each of the painters' work stands at over $200,000, with both records set by their elaborately painted mallard hens.

At the turn of the twentieth century, as more and more gentlemen and ladies arrived by train from Chicago to partake in the growing sport of duck hunting on Lake Senachwine, word about the decoys made by the talented Ellistons continued to spread. The “sports,” as the local guides and carvers called them, began placing orders with the Ellistons for hunting rigs en masse. The orders quickly blossomed into a full-time business, and soon the couple was shipping decoys to sporting goods stores and individuals around the country. Outstanding original paint with light gunning wear.

Provenance: Walter White Collection Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection, acquired from the above, 1981 Private Collection

Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Julie Carlson, "Masterworks of the Illinois River," Boston, MA, 2005, p. 28, exact decoy illustrated.

Exhibited: Salisbury, Maryland, “The Illinois River Meets the Chesapeake,” Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, September 2–November 13, 2005.

Provenance

Walter White Collection Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection, acquired from the above, 1981 Private Collection