Robert Elliston The Masterworks Dupee Rig Bluebill

Robert Elliston (1847-1925) Bureau, IL, c. 1900 13 in. long

Widely regarded as the founders of the Illinois River commercial decoy carving tradition, the duo of Robert and Catherine Elliston set the standard against which all Illinois River decoys are measured. Like Lem and Steve Ward from Crisfield, Maryland, and a number of Illinois River decoy makers to follow, they divided the carving and painting roles. Robert applied his honed woodworking skills, while Catherine proved herself to be one of the finest decoy painters of all time.

Robert Elliston was born in Kentucky in 1849. In his late teens, he apprenticed as a carriage-maker at the Studebaker woodworking shop in South Bend, Indiana. He moved on to work for Henry Olds and later the McLaren Hearse and Coach Manufacturing Company. By working as a carriage-maker in New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, Elliston became a seasoned woodworker, a skill that would later serve him greatly.

It was while working in St. Louis that the young Elliston met Margaret Cumminski. The two enjoyed a brief courtship, were married, and moved to Lacon, Illinois. In Lacon, Robert worked for the Brereton Buggy Shop. A few short years later, tragedy hit; an influenza epidemic took the lives of Margaret and their newborn son.

Robert, shortly thereafter, began a relationship with Margaret’s sister, Catherine. Robert and Catherine married, staying in Lacon briefly, before moving to the Undercliff Hotel on Lake Senachwine, near Putnam, Illinois. It is likely that while still living in Lacon, Catherine saw the decoys of Steven Lane (1843-1900) and the crisp paint applied to his decoys resonated with her. Situated in the heart of the Midwest Flyway, the Ellistons’ legacy began to take shape.

Catherine applied sophisticated, yet graceful, paint patterns that are virtually unequalled by any of her contemporaries, with the exception of Edna Perdew. She developed her own techniques of scratch feathering that echo the finest grain-painted chests of Pennsylvania made during the mid-nineteenth century. Implementing a metal grain-comb to help suggest feathering and to give the decoys a more realistic look, her painting techniques were later copied by Millie Graves and other painters up and down the Illinois River and beyond.

This bird hails from the Dupee rig, one of the Midwest's most coveted groups. Indeed the few bluebills from this rig have been the most sought after from the entire region. This decoy has a extra-full and round body with Robert's best form and it is finished with Catherine's very best swirl and comb paint. The underside of the hollow body bears the "W. H. Dupee" brand and a "The Elliston Decoy" weight. It is been selected for at least two important museum exhibitions and two books. Excellent original paint with some typical rig discoloration to back and left side.

Provenance: W. H. Dupee Rig Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection

Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Julie Carlson, "Masterworks of the Illinois River," Boston, MA, 2005, p. 41, exact decoy illustrated. Zac Zetterberg, ed., "American Decoy: The Invention," Peoria, IL, 2020, p. 71, exact decoy illustrated.

Exhibited: Salisbury, Maryland, “The Illinois River Meets the Chesapeake,” Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, September 2–November 13, 2005. Peoria, Illinois, "Masterworks of the Illinois River," Center for American Decoys, Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Provenance

W. H. Dupee Rig Masterworks of the Illinois River Collection