Elmer Crowell Sherer Rig Merganser Pair

A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1910 18 1/2 in. long

Over the past 20 years, the importance of Joseph F. Sherer Sr. (1879-1956) as an Elmer Crowell patron has come into focus. In the early 1900s, Sherer hunted with Crowell and George D. Flynn, the largest landowner on Martha’s Vineyard at the time. In The Sporting Sale 2007, an exceptional Crowell running curlew, now in the Thomas M. Evans Collection, set a record for any decorative shorebird carving. Since then, the Crowell monograph and three subsequent offerings from Sherer’s descendants have broadened his legacy with a consistent pattern of early and high-grade decoys and mantle carvings. The following four Sherer Collection lots are the latest exemplary works to make their public debut and add to our appreciation of this historic artist-patron relationship.

A rare and fresh-to-the-market pair of early pre-brand mergansers from the rig of Joseph F. Sherer. These birds were acquired from Crowell by his well-documented patron; they have remained in the family for over a century.

The hen has a drawn back and turned head. The drake perfectly complements her with a turned and swimming posture. Both show excellent paint with a strong wing pattern on the drake and extensive stippling on both. Both are early unrigged decoy models, and they are pre-brand. The drake has "Shell drake 18.00” penciled by Crowell on the bottom.

These rare early merganser models were also seen in the Hinsdale rig, which were collected by Alan Haid, Russ Goldberger, and Ted Harmon. This Sherer pair is notable for its clean brushwork in the drake’s wing patch and the quality of the tight two-tone stippling on the hen. Original paint with light wear, including some minor flakes on drake's back and right wing. A ding to his lower left edge.

Provenance: Joseph F. Sherer Rig/Collection, acquired from the maker Private Collection, by descent in the family

Literature: Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2019, pp. 139 and 70, Sherer discussed and redhead illustrated. John Clayton, “Massachusetts Masters: Decoys, Shorebirds, and Decorative Carvings Exhibition Catalog,” The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, 2010, p. 79, related Hinsdale rig pair illustrated.

Provenance

Joseph F. Sherer Rig/Collection, acquired from the maker Private Collection, by descent in the family