Frank Richardson Brant

Frank Richardson Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, MA, c. 1920 A rare, tack-eyed, hollow-carved, brant goose decoy used by Richardson and fellow Vineyard carver Benjamin Smith on the Great Sengekontacket tidal pond. A rigmate leads in the chapter on Frank Richardson in "Martha's Vineyard Decoys," by Stanley Murphy. Along with Joseph Lincoln, Richardson made some of the finest brant decoys to come off of the Massachusetts coast. This example is perhaps the finest brant by this maker to ever be offered. The decoy exhibits a three-piece laminated body joined with long hand-carved mortised pegs and nails. The paint has a warm mellow patina and the bottom retains the original rigging. Original paint; neck has been reset; wood shrinkage and gunning wear.

Literature: Stanley Murphy, "Martha's Vineyard Decoys," Boston, MA, 1978, plate 71, p. 94, rigmate illustrated.