Gus Wilson Preening Mallard Drake

Augustus A. Wilson (1864-1950) South Portland, ME, c. 1890 An extremely rare, preening, open-billed, mallard decoy. This exact bird is prominently featured in the 1974 book, "American Folk Sculpture," written by Robert Bishop, who at the time was an editor for the Henry Ford Museum, and shortly thereafter became the director of the Museum of American Folk Art.

Though Wilson is known to have made thousands of decoys, this is believed to be the only back preening mallard drake to have surfaced. Two related wing-up black ducks have come on the market over the last decade with one bird soaring to almost two hundred thousand dollars and the other for over one hundered thousand.

Working mallard decoys by Wilson are exceptionally hard to find. The maker’s output consisted mainly of coastal species including eiders, scoters, goldeneye, black ducks, and mergansers. While later in his career Wilson produced a number of flying mallards, only a few of his gunning stool “greenheads” have come to light. Original paint with light gunning wear mostly at edge of tail.

Provenance: Barbara Johnson Collection Private Collection

Literature: Robert Bishop, "American Folk Sculpture," NY, NY, 1974, p. 302, exact decoy illustrated. Gene Kangas, "Gus Wilson Folk Artist," Decoy Magazine, Lewes, DE, November/December 1994, p. 11, exact decoy illustrated. Osona & O'Brien, "Important Waterfowl and Shorebird Decoys," Nantucket Island, MA, 1993, front cover and lot 33.

Provenance

Barbara Johnson Collection Private Collection