LOTHROP TURNER HOLMES
1824-1899 | KINGSTON, MA
176
176 Exceptional Scoter
Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824-1899) Kingston, MA, c. 1860 20 1/2 in. long
This coot’s body is constructed with canvas, fastened by copper tacks stretched over bent wooden slats. Gigi Hopkins, in Massachusetts Masterpieces, credits Holmes with likely innovating the canvas decoy design: “The carver also made undeniably cute, framed, canvascovered oldsquaw — and if he was making these between the ages of 25 to 30, it dates them to the 1850s, making it fairly clear that Holmes invented this lightweight form.” This scoter is an excellent example of Holmes’ canvas decoy design and, with its superb condition, is perhaps his best of the species to ever come on the market. The underside is finished with Holmes’ distinct copper and leather rigging. Original paint with gunning wear and some touch-up.
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Massachusetts LITERATURE: Gwladys Hopkins, Massachusetts Masterpieces: The Decoy as Art, Lincoln, MA, 2016, p. 102. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LCC, The Sporting Sale 2011, Plymouth, MA, 2011, lots 518-519, related long-tailed ducks illustrated.
$18,000 - $24,000
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