Mark McNair Rig of Three Long-billed Curlew

Mark S. McNair (b. 1950) Craddockville, VA, 2009 box: 14 by 22 in. running curlew: 6 by 19 by 3 in. turned-head curlew: 7 ½ by 12 by 3 1/4 in. alert curlew: 9 by 17 1/2 by 3 ½ in.

"My New England sensibilities inspired the idea for the shooting box of curlew decoys. Nantucket shipwrights, the Protestant work ethic, and the finely worked decoys of Cape Cod all conjoined in this rig of rare and beautiful long-billed curlew. Perhaps the heroic size and utilitarian sturdiness were influenced by the work of the Cobb family, islanders of the Eastern Shore of Virginia who sailed South from Cape Cod the mid-1800s: New England transplants, like myself. The paint is artist's oils. The wood is white cedar and oak for the bills. The box is white pine, cypress, and salvaged yellow pine, held together with I9th-century square-cut nails. It's a box I would dream of finding, with a sense of treasure held within." — Mark McNair

All carvings are incised on the underside with "McNair." Original paint with light wear.

Provenance: Private Collection, Florida

Provenance

Private Collection, Florida