Daniel Lake Leeds The Leeds Mallard Drake

Daniel Lake Leeds (1852-1922) Pleasantville, NJ, c. 1890 16 in. long

"The Dan Leeds birds have a stylized exaggeration that has an artistic appeal...[He] lavished great care on his decoys during their years of service. They stand on their own unique merit and have little in common with their New Jersey contemporaries." — William J. Mackey Jr., "Classic Shorebird Decoys," 1971

Any early mallard decoy from New Jersey is rare, and this decoys by Leeds is the only one by the maker known to have surfaced and is his grandest decoy. The body is refined with a turned head, raised shoulders, a groove between the wings, and remnants of a curl feather. The hollow body was finished with carefully blended paint and detailed feathering. The underside has the Giberson and Noyes Collection markings on either side of the poured weight. Many consider this to be the finest Leeds waterfowl decoy known to exist. Excellent original paint with light gunning wear, minor putty loss at neck seam, and minute darkening to several shot marks.

Provenance: Fred Noyes Collection Gary and Niki Giberson Collection

Literature: Milton C. Weiler and William J. Mackey Jr., "Classic Shorebird Decoys: A Portfolio of Paintings," New York, NY, 1971, pl. 11, Mackey quote.

Provenance

Fred Noyes Collection Gary and Niki Giberson Collection