Charles Sumner Bunn Golden Plover

Charles Sumner Bunn (1865-1952) Shinnecock, NY or William "Bill" Bowman (1824-1906) Bangor, ME and Lawrence, NY, c. 1900 10 1/2 in. long

This is one of the finest golden plover decoys known not only from Long Island, but from any region. A true golden, this rare species for the maker reveals a deep ochre paint stippled under the artist’s standard black and brown feather work. In 1985 a closely related Bunn/Bowman golden plover set the world record for any decoy at auction, landing at $50,000. A closely related Bunn/Bowman golden plover, out of the McCleery Collection, was featured on the front cover of Copley’s Winter Sale 2017 catalog. Original paint with even gunning wear and a one-half bill replacement.

Provenance: Bud Ward Collection Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the above

Literature: Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Winter Sale 2017," February 17, front cover and lot 238, McCleery golden plover illustrated. Joe Engers, “Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,” Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 12, exact decoy illustrated. The Ward Museum, "The Decoys of Long Island," Salisbury, MD, 2010, p. 38, related example illustrated. Frank Schmidt and Gary Guyette, "The Art of Deception: Waterfowl Decoys from the Collection of Paul Tudor Jones II," St. Michaels, MD, 2006, p. 57, related examples illustrated. Robert Shaw, "Call to the Sky: The Decoy Collection of James M. McCleery, M.D.," Houston, TX, 1992, p. 37 and back cover, related example illustrated. E. Jane Townsend, "Gunners Paradise; Wildfowling and Decoys on Long Island," Stony Brook, NY, 1979, p. 120, related examples illustrated.

Provenance

Bud Ward Collection Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the above