On July 13 and 14, Copley Fine Art Auction will offer to bidders more than 500 works related to hunting, fishing, bird decoys, bird dogs and many other subjects in the annual Sporting Art Sale in Hingham, Massachusetts.
The annual sale is known for its huge variety of sporting material, from carved objects such as bird decoys, to fine art such as paintings and sculpture.
Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969), Dove Shooting, watercolor, 17 x 24½” Estimate: $30/50,000
Noteworthy paintings at this year’s sale include works by some of the top artists on the genre. One of those artists is Arthur Burdett Frost, whose works are treasured by hunters all around the world. Available in the sale is his gouache work Autumn Woodcock, estimated at $70,000 to $90,000. Another important name is Aiden Lassell Ripley, whose watercolor Dove Shooting will be available with estimates of $30,000 to $50,0000.
The Earnest-Gregory-McCleery Dovetailed Goose, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, ca. 1880, 17½ x 29½” Estimate: $600/900,000
“The Frost painting is an important one because it is one of his original works from his Shooting Picturesbook, published by Scribner’s in 1895. We’ve handled plenty of these originals, of which there are 12. The provenance on the piece is quite good because it comes from a du Pont Family descendent,” says Leah Tharpe, a fine art specialist at Copley. “The Ripley is from the same family. The work itself is somewhat rarer because Ripley did not do a great number of dove-hunting images. He did a lot of quail and good amount of turkey, but doves are very rare.”
Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait (1819-1905), Quail and Chicks, oil on board, 10 x 14” Estimate: $20/30,000
Two earlier artists represented in the sale include 19th-century painters Thomas Blinks, whose oil English Pointers (est. $30/50,000) will be offered, and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, whose oil work Quail and Chicks (est. $20/30,000) will also be available.
For collectors of carved bird decoys, the sale will have major examples of the subjects. “We are thrilled about this sale as some of the finest decoys known to exist will cross the auction block,” says Copley principal Stephen O’Brien Jr.
Arthur Burdett Frost (1851-1928), Autumn Woodcock, gouache, 13½ x 21” Estimate: $70/90,000
Many of the decoys come from the Thomas M. Evans Jr. Collection, including the McCleery Eider Drake, which is estimated at $800,000 to $1.2 million. The auction house notes that the work was first collected by Dr. James M. McCleery, who was among the greatest of decoy connoisseurs from any era. Of this sea duck, decoy specialist Robert Shaw writes, “This is arguably the most sophisticated of all eider decoys, with flowing lines and stylized abstract paint worthy of a Zen calligrapher.”
Also from the collection are The Earnest-Gregory-McCleery Dovetailed Goose(est. $600/900,000). The sale will feature numerous other examples, including many pieces that are estimated in the high six figures.
The McCleery Eider Drake, Matinicus Isle, ME, ca. 1880, 16½” Estimate: $800/1,200,000
The auction will take place live, but all bidding is remote via phone, online or absentee bidding. Previews are available by appointment by calling Copley Fine Art Auctions. —
Copley’s Sporting Sale
July 13-14, 2023
Copley Fine Art Auctions, 65 Sharp Street, Hingham, MA 02043
(617) 536-0030, www.copleyart.com
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