The Cape Cod Chronicle- November 24, 2011
Elmer Crowell Bird Carvings Continue to bring Top Dollar
By William F. Galvin
HARWICH, MASSACHUSETTS– As residents look to the sesquicentennial anniversary of the birth of world renowned bird carver A. Elmer Crowell, an auction two weeks ago in Maryland, demonstrated once again the value of the local craftsman’s work.
Crowell’s recognition as America’s most famous waterfowl decoy carver has not diminished in the 60 years since his death in 1952. At the auction held by Guyette, Schmidt & Deeter in Easton, Maryland, a decorative standing full-size redhead drake duck carving by Crowell circa 1920 sold for $100,000 more than the estimated price. The final bid was $241,500.
The auctioneers also pointed out other carvings by Crowell sold in that auction at premium prices, including a decorative semipalmated plover for $7,500 and a flying miniature black duck for $11,500. A few years ago two of Crowell’s works, a preening pintail drake and a sleeping Canada goose, were sold at auction for $1.13 million each.
Last summer, at a Copley Fine Arts Auction in Plymouth, a life-size running curlew was sold for $247,250, a life-size wood duck for $115,000 and a miniature jack curlew for a record $12,650.
The latest auction success comes at a time when a group of residents loosely formed as the friends of Elmer Crowell are working with town officials to seek additional funding and permission to locate the world renowned artist’s workshop on town land adjacent to Brooks Academy.
Bob Bradley, chairman of historical and historic district commission, was before the community preservation committee Thursday night to pitch support for the use of $50,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to relocate Crowell’s workshop at Brooks Academy.
The workshop was removed from the former Crowell property on Orleans Road in East Harwich a few years ago and the present owners of the property sought to give the structure to the town so they could build a more suitable structure for their needs on that site.
But, absent town funds to relocate and reconstruct the workshop, town officials took a pass on the offer. The A.E. Crowell American Bird Decoy Foundation, Inc., a group seeking to establish a Crowell museum in Sandwich, agreed to flake and relocate the structure to be included in the museum project. But, given the economic downturn, that project never came to fruition.
Bradley said the group agreed to return the flaked structure to the town of Harwich and it now sits in a trailer at the town transfer station site. He said the board of selectmen will be asked in a December meeting to officially accept the structure as a gift from the foundation and efforts will then be made to place the workshop on the wooded lot to the west side of the Brooks Academy parking lot.
The commission chairman said there is a loosely formed friends group working on the project. He also said there is now $95,000 in approved CPA funds for saving and locating historic structures on town property. Bradley said that money would be directed at this effort.
Community Preservation Committee Chairman Jack Brown said Selectman Ed McManus and Bradley came to his committee Thursday night to discuss the application, which seeks $50,000. There was also an abutter there, Brian Murphy, a former member of the historical and historic district committee, who spoke against the project, stating it was not an appropriate location and the building would require a lot of maintenance, Brown said.
The committee chairman said the proposal is on the agenda again on Thursday, Dec. 8 and the committee is trying to conclude its recommendations for funding projects for the annual town meeting by its Dec. 15 meeting.
“A lot of people want to see this happen,” Patti Smith, a member of the friends group told The Chronicle two months ago. “I’d like to have it set up for 2012.”
Elmer Crowell Bird Carvings Continue to bring Top Dollar
By William F. Galvin
HARWICH, MASSACHUSETTS– As residents look to the sesquicentennial anniversary of the birth of world renowned bird carver A. Elmer Crowell, an auction two weeks ago in Maryland, demonstrated once again the value of the local craftsman’s work.
Crowell’s recognition as America’s most famous waterfowl decoy carver has not diminished in the 60 years since his death in 1952. At the auction held by Guyette, Schmidt & Deeter in Easton, Maryland, a decorative standing full-size redhead drake duck carving by Crowell circa 1920 sold for $100,000 more than the estimated price. The final bid was $241,500.
The auctioneers also pointed out other carvings by Crowell sold in that auction at premium prices, including a decorative semipalmated plover for $7,500 and a flying miniature black duck for $11,500. A few years ago two of Crowell’s works, a preening pintail drake and a sleeping Canada goose, were sold at auction for $1.13 million each.
Last summer, at a Copley Fine Arts Auction in Plymouth, a life-size running curlew was sold for $247,250, a life-size wood duck for $115,000 and a miniature jack curlew for a record $12,650.
The latest auction success comes at a time when a group of residents loosely formed as the friends of Elmer Crowell are working with town officials to seek additional funding and permission to locate the world renowned artist’s workshop on town land adjacent to Brooks Academy.
Bob Bradley, chairman of historical and historic district commission, was before the community preservation committee Thursday night to pitch support for the use of $50,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to relocate Crowell’s workshop at Brooks Academy.
The workshop was removed from the former Crowell property on Orleans Road in East Harwich a few years ago and the present owners of the property sought to give the structure to the town so they could build a more suitable structure for their needs on that site.
But, absent town funds to relocate and reconstruct the workshop, town officials took a pass on the offer. The A.E. Crowell American Bird Decoy Foundation, Inc., a group seeking to establish a Crowell museum in Sandwich, agreed to flake and relocate the structure to be included in the museum project. But, given the economic downturn, that project never came to fruition.
Bradley said the group agreed to return the flaked structure to the town of Harwich and it now sits in a trailer at the town transfer station site. He said the board of selectmen will be asked in a December meeting to officially accept the structure as a gift from the foundation and efforts will then be made to place the workshop on the wooded lot to the west side of the Brooks Academy parking lot.
The commission chairman said there is a loosely formed friends group working on the project. He also said there is now $95,000 in approved CPA funds for saving and locating historic structures on town property. Bradley said that money would be directed at this effort.
Community Preservation Committee Chairman Jack Brown said Selectman Ed McManus and Bradley came to his committee Thursday night to discuss the application, which seeks $50,000. There was also an abutter there, Brian Murphy, a former member of the historical and historic district committee, who spoke against the project, stating it was not an appropriate location and the building would require a lot of maintenance, Brown said.
The committee chairman said the proposal is on the agenda again on Thursday, Dec. 8 and the committee is trying to conclude its recommendations for funding projects for the annual town meeting by its Dec. 15 meeting.
“A lot of people want to see this happen,” Patti Smith, a member of the friends group told The Chronicle two months ago. “I’d like to have it set up for 2012.”
