STANDING EGRETAMERICAN SCHOOL, EARLY 20TH CENTURY | Standing EgretAmerican School, early 20th century

Private Collection, Manesquan, New Jersey;
Steve Miller, American Folk Art, New York;
Joel and Kate Kopp, America Hurrah, New York;
David A. Schorsch, Inc., New York.

New York, David A. Schorsch American Antiques, American Decoys:  A Folk Art Tradition, Fall 1996.

Adele Earnest, The Art of the Decoy, (Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1965), fig. 75, p. 85:
William J. Mackey, American Bird Decoys, (Exton, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1965), p. 57;
Robert Bishop, American Folk Sculpture (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1974) fig. 555, p. 300;
David A. Schorsch, American Decoys:  A Folk Art Tradition, (New York: Antiquarian Equities, 1996), cat. no. 1, cover and pp. 14-15, illus. in color;  
Tom Geismar and Harvey Kahn, Spiritually Moving:  A Collection of American Folk Art Sculpture (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998) cat. no. 47, illus. in color.

Age cracks and wear consistent with age and use. A 1/2 inch by 3-inch chip to the proper left side of the face along an age crack. Some touchups to the painted surface. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Purchasers may pay for and pick up their purchases from any of our Americana Week sales taking place from January 17-20, 2019, at our York Avenue headquarters until the close of business on Sunday, January 20, 2019. After this time, all property (sold and unsold) will be transferred to our offsite facility, Crozier Fine Art, One Star Ledger Plaza, 69 Court Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102. Once property has been transferred from our York Avenue location, it will not be available for collection at Crozier Fine Arts until Friday, January 25, 2019. Crozier's hours of operation for collection are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday-Friday. Please note, certain items of property, including but not limited to jewelry, watches, silver and works on panel will remain at 1334 York Avenue. Invoices and statements will indicate your property's location. For more information regarding collection from our offsite facility, please visit sothebys.com/pickup.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The large-scale species of exotic waterfowl, including herons, cranes, and egrets, are amongst the scarcest of all working decoys. Egrets were primarily stalked by plume hunters, who sought their showy feathers to sell to milliners, and egret decoys were also occasionally added to rigs of ducks as confidence decoys. Ironically, the exploitation of these big beautiful birds by commercial gunners outraged some late nineteenth century women, who helped set the conservation movement in motion and eventually brought an end to the slaughter.