SELLING THE FINEST DECOYS AND SPORTING ART
ON THE COVER A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) The Johnson Turned-Head Dust-Jacket Plover sold for $324,000 A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) The Johnson Skyward-Gazing Dust-Jacket Plover sold for $372,000 A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) The Johnson Feeding Dust-Jacket Plover sold for $288,000
Ogden M. Pleissner (1905-1983) Jimmy’s Pool on the Restigouche (detail) sold for $240,000 >
COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC 617.536.0030 | info@copleyart.com
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WORLD RECORD
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Ewoud de Groot (Dutch, b. 1969) Curlew (detail), 2019 sold for $19,200
Over the last three decades, Copley owner Stephen B. O’Brien Jr.
Thoroughly researched and beautifully presented, Copley’s
has assisted nearly all of the top decoy and sporting art collec-
catalogs are lasting tributes to the artists, their works, and the
tors in building their collections. When it comes to selling, Copley
collectors. Many single-owner collections have been
specialists’ comprehensive understanding of these intricate
prominently featured within the main auction catalogs. Other
niche markets generates results. Knowing the top buyers in any
collections have been presented in their own stand-alone
market is important, and our commitment to maintaining the
auction books. These dedicated catalogs continue to distinguish
highest standards in the field helps our clients to make confident
Copley as one of the art field’s leading stewards of legacy.
purchasing decisions. Copley does not sell the most decoys and sporting art; we focus Copley specialists invest their time and effort upfront to catalog
on quality over quantity. With only two auctions per
items accurately. We are at the forefront in the use of radio-
year, we target pinnacle works by the top artists and makers
graphs (x-rays) and ultraviolet light analysis. These steps give our
for our collectors. Copley has seen an unprecedented number
buyers a tremendous amount of bidding confidence and
of new bidders entering the market with active bidding across
our record-setting results reflect the success of this modern
every category, from antique and contemporary decoys to
approach.
decorative carvings, paintings, prints, folk art, and Americana.
Copley has the expertise and publishing experience necessary to document top-tier collections in a proper and fitting manner.
Leaders in the fields of antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings.
"...Copley Fine Art Auctions, the Boston-based sporting art powerhouse..." - T. Edward Nickens, Garden & Gun Magazine, April 2021
Meet Our Specialists Now Accepting Quality Consignments
Steve O’Brien Jr.
Colin S. McNair
Leah Tharpe
Owner, Decoy and Painting Specialist, Estate Consultant steve@copleyart.com 617.388.0792
Decoy Specialist colin@copleyart.com 757.999.0078
Fine Art Specialist leah@copleyart.com 617.536.0030
Please contact one of our specialists to discuss selling your individual items or entire collection.
Arthur Burdett Frost (1851-1928) Quail - A Covey Rise (detail) sold for $180,000 WR for artist <
The World’s Leading Seller of High-End Decoys Since 2009, Copley has placed more decoy lots on the “100 All-Time High Prices” list than all of the other auction firms combined. Source: Decoy Magazine
COPLEY Guyette & Deeter
31 19
Decoys Unlimited Christie’s Sotheby’s
The Earnest-Gregory Dovetailed Goose sold for $810,000 for any unknown maker WR >
Selling the Finest in Sporting Art for Over 15 Years
Orlando “Os” Bibber (1882-1970) The Bibber Long-Tailed Drake sold for $150,000 > Fred M. Nichols (1854-1924) Nichols Feeding Yellowlegs sold for $96,000 >
Decoys
Harry V. Shourds (1861-1920) and Harry M. Shourds (1890-1943) Canada Geese sold for $201,250 <
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) Preening Black Duck sold for $600,000 >
Augustus A. Wilson (1864-1950) Red-Breasted Merganser sold for $330,000 for maker WR >
Joseph W. Lincoln (1859-1938) Long-Tailed Duck Pair sold for $360,000 WR for maker <
4022
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Charles Schoenheider Sr. (1854-1944) The “Masterworks” American Merganser Pair sold for $270,000 WR for the Illinois River region
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Allen J. King (1878-1963) Miniature Bobwhite Quail Family sold for $16,800
Thomas Chambers (1860-1948) Wood Duck sold for $270,000 for a Canadian decoy WR >
Nathan F. Cobb Jr. (1825-1905) The Mackey-Muller Cobb Brant sold for $186,000
Herman R. Trinosky (1874-1956) Kankakee Pintail Drake sold for $186,000 WR for maker
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The Ward Brothers Pintail Pair sold for $252,000
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for makers
George Warin (1830-1905) Canada Goose sold for $43,200 for maker WR > Charles Birch (1867-1956) The Mackey Birch Swan sold for $210,000 for maker WR >
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) Flying Tern sold for $60,000 >
Elmer Crowell
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) The Harmon Collection “Dust-Jacket” Plover Trio sold for $1.14 million >
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) Exceptional Bobwhite Quail Pair sold for $221,400 >
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952) Nesting Canada Goose sold for $661,250 > >
Sporting Art Thomas Blinks (English, 1860-1912) English Springer Spaniel with Pheasant (detail) sold for $72,000 <
>
Ogden M. Pleissner (1905-1983) The Rapids (detail), 1938 sold for $345,000 for artist WR
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927) Wild Turkeys, 1924 sold for $86,250 for artist WR < Edmund Henry Osthaus (1858-1928) Pointer with Quail, 1890 sold for $230,500 for artist WR >
Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969) Two Woodcock, 1945 sold for $45,000 <
Lynn Bogue Hunt (1878-1960) Blue Fin Tuna sold for $126,500 WR for artist >
Wildlife
Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926) Roused, A Tiger and Tigress (detail), 1912 sold for $333,500 <
Ken Carlson (b. 1937) A Feint Sound sold for $36,000 > David Shepherd (British, 1931-2017) The Quiet Peace of an African Evening (detail), 1971 sold for $57,000 >
>
Carl Rungius (1869-1959) Humpback Grizzly sold for $460,000 Carl Rungius (1869-1959) Near Summit Lake, British Columbia sold for $316,250 >
American Paintings >
Philip R. Goodwin (1882-1935) October Hunting (detail) sold for $161,000
Frank W. Benson (1862-1951) Salmon Fishing sold for $747,500 >
Emile Albert Gruppé (1896-1978) On Fish (detail) sold for $55,200 WR for coastal scene by the artist <
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Clark Voorhees (1911-1980) Sperm Whale sold for $12,000 WR for artist
John Haley Bellamy (1836–1914) Carved Eagle sold for $21,850 >
Americana
Marguerite Kirmse (1885-1954) The American Sporting Dog Plates sold for $7,475 <
Flying Meadowlark sold for $21,600 >
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James W. Marshall (1811-1885) Bear Cane Stand Coloma, CA, 1848 sold for $27,600
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Fish Decoy sold for $18,000
The Guennol Heron sold for $42,000 >
51-Inch-Long Salesman’s Sample Canoe Old Town, ME, 1919 sold for $17,250 <
Fishing Edward Vom Hofe (1846-1920) Fly Reel sold for $2,645 >
John Tully (1862-1931) Atlantic Salmon sold for $12,980 > >
Everett Garrison (1893-1975) Two-Tip Trout Rod sold for $6,325
r and Ives (1857-1907) e of a Hunter- “A Tight Fix” 40,250
Bronzes
William J. Koelpin (1938-1996) Bear Country, 1994 sold for $20,700 >
William J Koelpin (1938-1996) Storm Warning, 1990 sold for $30,000 WR for artist >
James E. Fraser (1876-1953) Buffalo, 1968 sold for $17,250 >
Charles Schreyvogel (1861-1912) The Last Drop, 1903 sold for $109,250 <
American Prints
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Currier and Ives (1857-1907) The Life of a Hunter- “A Tight Fix” (detail) sold for $40,250
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Carl Rungius (1869-1959) Silvertip sold for $4,800
John James Audubon (1785-1851) Snowy Owl (detail) sold for $72,000 >
Frank W. Benson (1862-1951) The Gunner (detail), 1915 sold for $21,850 for The Gunner WR <
The Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection of American Bird Decoys
The Walter L. Bush Collection,
The Walter L. Bush Collection, deaccessioned from a New York City Museum
Honoring the Legacies
deaccessioned from a New York City Museum
H. Wendell Endicott Collection of Carl Rungius Paintings
The William K. du Pont Collection of Decoys, Bird Carvings, and Waterfowling Artifacts
The Johnson Collection of American Bird Decoys
of Collectors
The Harry V. Long Collection of Elmer Crowell Decoys
The Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Collection of Important Sporting Art and Decoys
COPLEY FINE ART AUCTIONS, LLC
info@copleyart.com | 617.536.0030