MINIATURE FLYING BRANTWilliam "Bill"Neal (1924-2014)
Black Point, CA, 1977
9 1/2 in. long
A McLellan-style brant with an eighteen-inch-long wingspan. This decorative has movable wings and is signed and dated...
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COOTEd Snyder (1928-2011)
Rio Vista,CA, c. 1970
11 in. long
An excellent decorative by one of the Golden State's premier decoy makers. This hollow coot has finely incised wing detail, a super thin tail, and...
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SLEEPING PINTAIL PAIREd Snyder (1928-2011)
RioVista, CA, c. 1970
16 in. long
This hollow pair has fine painted feather detail and the maker's signature on the inlayed bottom boards.
Original paint with light wear.
Provenance:...
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HIGH-HEAD PINTAILEd Castagnetto (1911-1996)
SanFrancisco, CA, 1989
17 1/2 in. long
Taught by California carving legend, "Fresh-Air Dick" Janson, Ed learned to carve as a young man. He was also a sharp shooter who enjoyed...
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PINTAIL PAIRJohn B. Winter (1905-1981)
Burlingame,CA, c. 1945
16 in. long
Winter made waterfowl decoys for his hunting in the Sacramento Valley. Balsa-bodied decoys, such as this pair, were carved from decommissioned military...
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MALLARD PAIRScott Cork Decoy Company(1927-1954)
Oakland, CA, c. 1930
15 in. long
Reece Scott (1871-1955) founded this company in Oakland. This influential California establishment specialized in the fabrication...
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CANVAS CACKLING GOOSEBurley Earl Russell(1891-1984)
Stockton, CA, c. 1935
22 in. long
Russell was one of the first to create the canvas-kapok decoys and was also the most accomplished. A talented carpenter and...
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MALLARD DRAKETule Lake Decoy Co.
Sacramento,CA, c. 1925
15 in. long
Operated by Hugh Woodward (1889-1948), Tule Lake was the most renowned decoy factory on the Pacific Coast. Woodward put his previous building skills...
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PINTAIL PAIRWright Decoy Company
Berkeley,CA, c. 1935
15 in. long
Linley A. Wright (1889-1946) was a machinist who ran a decoy manufacturing company from his home. The decoys were made using five pieces of redwood...
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CANVASBACK DRAKEJoseph Carolus Roesling(1862-1944)
Alameda, CA, c. 1910
15 in. long
Born in Wisconsin, Roesling brought his Midwest carving sensibilities to the Bay Area when he moved there in 1906. He carved...
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CANVASBACK DRAKE"Dick" Allen (1891-1971)
Vallejo,CA, c. 1925
14 1/2 in. long
Allen hunted San Francisco Bay and the Delta for over fifty years, carving decoys for his own use. Under the fine form is a flush-poured weight...
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BLUEBILL PAIRHarry L. Cook (1909-1993)
Vallejo,CA, c. 1930
11 3/4 in. long
A well-documented turned-head pair by Harry Cook. A lifelong resident of Vallejo, California, he worked for his father's painting business starting...
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GREEN-WINGED TEALRay Baliel (1910-1979)
RioVista, CA, c. 1935
11 1/2 in. long
"The dramatic swept-back heads and very life-like appearances have few equals in California," writes California decoy historian Michael...
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MALLARD DRAKESan Francisco, CA, c. 1940
15in. long
This gouge-carved decoy relates to the work of John Tornberg (1902-1971) and may very well be the carver's later work. Tornberg lived in the Marina district of San...
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PINTAIL"Fresh Air Dick" Janson (1872-1951)
Sonoma,CA, c. 1915
18 in. long
A classic early Janson decoy with raised wing tips and a flat bottom. This decoy may have been used in Janson's early market-gunning rig prior to...
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PINTAIL PAIR"Fresh Air Dick" Janson(1872-1951)
Sonoma, CA, c. 1930
17 in. long
Recognized as one of California’s greatest decoy carvers, Janson was also a commercial fisherman, a ship carpenter, and a professional...
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COOTLuigi Andreuccetti (1898-1978)
Vorden,CA, c. 1940
9 1/2 in. long
A well-documented coot decoy with a large body and slightly turned head. It appears to have the maker's signature affixed to the underside along...
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PINTAIL PAIRLuigi Andreuccetti (1898-1978)
Vorden,CA, 1948
17 1/2 in. long
In the "The Great Book of Waterfowl Decoys," the West Coast contributor Gerald Rosenthal introduces Andreuccetti as "the Sacramento stylist." In...
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CANVASBACK PAIRLeo Tocchini (1904-1989)
Oakland,CA, c. 1945
17 in. long
A magnum pair of balsa canvasbacks. The hen bears the maker's "LT" signature brand, while the drake has a "V" or "L" brand on the underside.
Drake...
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FEEDING PINTAIL PAIRHarold "Pappy" Kidwell(1895-1982)
Berkeley, CA, c. 1980
20 in. long
This well-documented pair of rare feeding pintails in two poses were made by one of California's more colorful characters, who...
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TWO BLACK BRANTPacific Northwest, c.1930
16 1/2 in. long
Two black brant, one is from Humboldt Bay and has a look-down head on a high neck. The other may be the work of Jim Jensen from Astoria, Oregon.
Both...
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CANVASBACK DRAKEJim Titus Sr. (1879-1956)
Burnside,OR, c. 1930
16 in. long
The son of pioneering homesteaders, Jim trapped on the lower Columbia River and was an avid duck hunter. In addition to decoys, Titus also made duck...
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EARLY PINTAIL DRAKECharles Bergman (1856-1946)
Astoria,OR, c. 1925
21 in. long
Charles Bergman is perhaps the best known decoy carver in the Astoria area. A Finn by birth, he immigrated to the United States by jumping ship in...
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MALLARD PAIRHorace "Hi" Crandall (1892-1969)
Westwood,CA, c. 1935
16 1/2 in. long
A slightly turned-head rigmate pair. The hen has a slightly uplifted head.
Original paint with light gunning wear.
Provenance: Les Vache Collection,...
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PINTAIL HENHorace "Hi" Crandall (1892-1969)
Westwood,CA, c. 1935
15 in. long
Crandall was an outdoorsman, a taxidermist, and a talented watercolor painter at a young age. After moving California in 1917, Crandall was an engineer...
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SWIMMING BRANTPaul F. Keeney (1897-1965)
Oakland,CA, c. 1935
20 1/2 in. long
Keeney hunted brant in Humboldt County and possibly Tomales Bay. This swimmer was made with seven-piece body construction and is outfitted with...
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FEEDING BRANTWesley Batterson (b. 1909)
Batterson,OR, c. 1950
22 in. long
According to "Wildfowl Decoys of the Pacific Coast," Wes "...is the most important, and certainly the most famous, brant hunter in the state of Oregon."...
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THE CRANDALL SLEEPY-EYED MALLARDHorace"Hi" Crandall (1892-1969)
Westwood, CA, c. 1935
15 in. long
One of California's best decoy carvers, Crandall is also considered by some to be its best painter. Born in Rhode...
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STANDING CANADA GOOSEJerry Mastin (1880-1959)
Portland,OR, 1937
26 in. long
This iconic and peerless rig of geese was initiated by the request of Mastin’s hunting partner, Roger Eaton, for use in harvested wheat fields. The...
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CANADA GOOSEEd Vidmar (1922-1991)
Pittsburg,CA, c. 1951
25 in. long
Early collectible Canada geese by named makers from California are difficult to source. This classic Vidmar goose displays fine paint and a grand...
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MALLARD DRAKEArt Jensen
Hayward, CA,c. 1952
14 in. long
A distinctly Jensen mallard with a turned head, raised wings, and a pleasing carved wing and feather design in its balsa body. This drake is illustrated...
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CINNAMON TEALArt Jensen
Hayward, CA,c. 1950
12 in. long
A refined teal with a turned head, raised wings, and a pleasing carved wing and feather design. Jensen was a painter as well as a hunter and a decoy carver....
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DUCK AND BRANT PATTERNSGeorge WilliamMcLellan (1897-1987)
Eureka, CA
McLellan's duck and floating brant patterns, including some highly intricate head patterns and design and construction notes and dates. This...
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FLYING BRANT PATTERNSGeorge WilliamMcLellan (1897-1987)
Eureka, CA, c. 1940
23 1/2 in. long
A lot of intricate patterns from McLellan's famous flying brant rig, including a wing-frame construction.
As found.
Provenance:...
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FLYING BRANTGeorge William McLellan(1897-1987)
Eureka, CA, c. 1941
24 in. long, 41 in. wingspan
One of only nine flying decoys originally created for this legendary rig. Few would argue that Bill McLellan’s...
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RICHARD HANSON (B1910)
FLOWERS
signedand dated 77, panel, 44.5 x 36.5cm...
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