Charles Walker The Masterworks Walker Preening Mallard Drake

Charles Walker (1873-1954) Princeton, IL, c. 1925 14 1/4 in. long

Preening mallard drakes are exceptionally rare along the Illinois River and this Walker decoy is one of the finest examples known by any of the region’s greatest makers. The design features his early flat-bottom, hollow-body construction and raised wing carving. The head arches high above the back with the bill tip hovering just above the right wing without making contact.

Born in Princeton, Illinois, near the wildlife rich area of Goose Pond and Lake Senachwine, Charles Walker became a heralded outdoorsman early on. Although he had no formal training as a woodworker, his father set a high bar as a talented violin maker and blacksmith.

Walker was a member of the exclusive Princeton Fish and Game Club of Bureau, Illinois, from 1902-1910. However, with a wife and four small children to support, the young house and sign painter by trade had to give up the luxury of his duck club membership. Nevertheless, he continued to hunt there as a guest of member G.M. Gibbs. After he made a rig of decoys for Gibbs, other club members took note and started placing orders.

Walker's connection with the Princeton Fish and Game Club proved to be a good one over the years. He eventually began carving decoys in earnest and set up a workshop near his home on Pleasant Street that became a social hub for club members, fellow carvers, friends, and family. During this period, he made this special mallard for the club member Henry Young. The underside is marked with Young's bold "H Y" brand straddling the slotted weight.

Charles Walker was among the most accomplished makers to draw influence from Robert and Catherine Elliston. That said, he quickly defined his own style and was always experimenting. Indeed, virtually every gunning rig that he produced was slightly different from the next. A trend of sophistication and confidence can be seen in his progression. Further separating Walker’s decoys from those of his regional contemporaries were the Club’s hunting waters. Members shot over ponds and marshes, rather than a flowing river, explaining the flat-bottomed designs of his decoys.

Lending to the rarity of Walker’s decoys, especially those in original paint, members of the Princeton Fish and Game Club were notorious for maintaining their rigs in perfect condition. Decoys were often painted at the end of each season and birds with broken bills or birds that leaked during the season were discarded into a pile near the boat landing. The large pile that accumulated, often comprised of Walker, Perdew, and Elliston decoys, was hauled off at the end of each season to be burned. Original paint with even gunning wear. Some working overpaint on the head and white sides.

Provenance: Henry Young Rig Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection

Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Julie Carlson, "Masterworks of the Illinois River," Boston, MA, 2005, p. 59, exact decoy illustrated. Zac Zetterberg, ed., “American Decoy: The Invention,” Peoria, IL, 2020, p. 170, exact decoy illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, pp. 248-249, related decoys illustrated. Exhibited: Peoria, Illinois, “American Decoy: The Invention,” Peoria Riverfront Museum, February 9–April 28, 2019. Salisbury, Maryland, “The Illinois River Meets the Chesapeake,” Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, September 2–November 13, 2005.

Provenance

Henry Young Rig Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection