November 2019 Decoy & Sporting Art Auction | Session One

Session one of the Decoy & Sporting Art Auction, offered by Guyette and Deeter, is to be held in conjunction with the Easton Waterfowl Festival. The festival’s stated mission is “to create, restore and conserve waterfowl habitat throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and nearby coastal bays.” Guyette and Deeter specialize in items related to hunting and fishing, most especially in birding and fishing decoys. Session one of this auction is anchored by many rare, handmade decoys, but also includes an assortment of original paintings.

One of the most valuable of the decoys for sale is of a humpback style pintail drake (a class of duck), made by Ward Brothers of Crisfield, Maryland. This item is signed, dated 1926, and is also inscribed on the underside: “Made for Senator Elwood Dize.” 

Though the bulk of the auction is made up of decoys and other animal carvings, there are also more than 30 paintings at auction. One of the more prized works is an original oil painting by George Browne, “Canvasbacks Swinging the Channel – Chesapeake Bay.” It depicts a group of canvasback ducks flying low against the sky. The auction house expects this painting to sell for at least USD 20,000. View any of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.