Elmer Crowell Willet Flattie

A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) East Harwich, MA, c. 1910 A life-size, three-quarters-of-an-inch-thick, tack-eye, silhouette decoy exhibiting the finest aspects of Crowell's shorebird paint. In the early 1900s, Joseph F. Sherer hunted with A. Elmer Crowell and George Flynn, the largest landowner on Martha's Vineyard, at the time. Bold original paint with minimal wear including a tight crack around neck, two small screw holes on one side from a wall mount, and some scratches that surround one of the holes.

Provenance: Joseph F. Sherer Collection, acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, by descent in the family to the current owner

Literature: Shirley and John Delph, "New England Decoys," Exton, PA, 1990, p. 149, similar example illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Bird Decoys of North America," New York, NY, 2010, p. 163, similar decoy illustrated.

Provenance

Joseph F. Sherer Collection, acquired directly from the artist Private Collection, by descent in the family to the current owner