“Beneath the Ice: The Art of the Fish Decoy,“ Museum of American Folk Art 2/15/1990- Peterson was extremely prolific, creating more than 15,000 works of art. (including fish decoys, duck decoys, plaques, and other decorative items). He even obtained a US Patent for a certain style of fishing plug (several of which were sold in a Cadillac MI sale, 10/3/2010). Estimates are that around 1,500 to 2,000 of his art form are still in existence.Oscar Peterson pieces show up in many places, one even appeared on the TV Show- Antiques Roadshow from Grand Rapids. Prices for Oscar Peterson's work are often very good, especially on his decorative carvings, with one plaque recently selling for as high as $100,000. His fish have been sold at Sotheby's and have obtained prices over $28,000 for a single piece.
Oscar Peterson was born 11/14/1887 to Swedish immigrant parents in Grayling Michigan. He moved to the Cadillac area when he was 8 and spent much of his youth hunting and fishing. He later opened a landscaping business with his brother George. Although it is not exactly known when he started to carve, it is believed that he started around 1900. He carved decoys and decorative items to supplement his income as a landscaper and general handyman. These decoys he sold from his home as well as in many bait shops around the area. His fish sold not only to the local sportsman, but also many tourists on their way toward Northern Michigan. Oscar approached carving as a business and that is probably the reason for the huge numbers of art that he created. He continued to make decoys and serve as a fishing and wilderness guide for the rest of his life. Oscar Peterson died on 10/7/1951.
If a key figure exists in the current resurgence of interest in fish decoys, it is most definitely Oscar "Pelee" Peterson, whose name is synonymous with the field.
—Apfelbaum, Gottlieb, and Michaan,Beneath the Ice, page 24There is no denying Oscar Peterson's impact on the art form of Fish decoys. Just the sheer number of counterfeits bear out the importance of his work. Oscar's fish were the first known pieces to exhibit the traits that have become known as the "Cadillac style". His brightly colored, somewhat abstractly shaped fish were truly the design of an ingenious self-taught artist. One of the reasons for the huge popularity of Oscar's decoys is that they were extremely good at attracting fish. Even today, decoy carvers make "honest copies" of Oscar Peterson's fish since they claim that there are times that "nothing else will attract a fish".
Collectors often break Oscar Peterson's fish decoy carvings into 5 periods. These periods correspond to changes in the style of carving and painting during his lifetime.
These were his most primitive carvings. His limited production and age of the decoys makes these the most rare of his periods. This is where he began to establish the "Cadillac Style" using streamlined but abstract shapes - very beautifully painted.
Slightly less rare, the carvings become more defined and the painting shows more attention to detail. These carvings become more easily recognized as his signature style.
This was his most creative period with the usage of more detailed carvings and brighter, bolder colors in his paintings. He also begins to add blending and feathering to accentuate his painting on the decoys.
Although sold commercially previously, Peterson's work begins to become simpler and less ornate as his popularity rose. He began to taper back on his carvings of other "collectible pieces" and focused on carving spearing decoys. The painting on the decoys begin to lose some of the bright colors seen in previous periods.
Peterson concentrated almost entirely on making spearing decoys. The paintings and carvings become much more simple and less detailed as he attempted to make them easier to produce.
ThisRareSilver & Gold, Over Cream & Pearl, Large"SHINER"fish decoy up for sale has a flashyGold,Silver, CreamandBronzewithVivid BlackFlecking and Red & Cream Detail paint to mouth, Gills, Eyebrows and Mustache. It hasRed, Pinkand Cream Fins with Red & Black Mouth & Gill Highlights.Red Leading Edge on Each Fin with Highlight Colors Following.The CarvedWood Tail isCream with aRed Blended in thatAppears Like a PinkwithBlack Line Tieand Cream Painted Rear Top Fin. As you can see itmost likelysaw actionin a shanty hole, but considering its 94+ year oldage it has an awesome antique and quite remarkableappearance. This great fishdecoy measures a very large and rare7" longx 1-3/8" wide x 1-1/4" tall and weighs a hefty 2-1/2 ounces., which includes the perfectly poured in andmore than adequately weighted lead ballast weights in the bottom. The decoy has all metal fins andSilver Nickeltack eyes. The fins are either a fairly thick tin or old protected sheet metal: there is 2 front pelvic fins and 2 rear pelvic fins, and a top and bottom rear fins.This cedar decoy was carved from one piece of wood and is still as solid and intact as the day it was made and it is in "PERFECT" structural condition as well asExcellent Overall Condition other than minor paint loss to the fins and Paint Loss Around Both Belly Weightsand most of the paint has flaked off of the top,frontdorsal fin.This decoyis froma temperature controlled collection and it wasundoubtedly in other discriminating collections prior to that andfor most of its existence. The decoy is carved perfectly symmetrical including thecarved and red painted gills, mouth and the entire belly except the creamon the lead weightsand this decoy isperfectly weighted and balanced. Thelead-basedgold, silver,cream, red,bronzeandblackpainton the body is almostentirely intact as are thefin paint andeyebrows and mustache. The Red, Pink, and Creamlead-based paint on the fins isabout 85%intact except for the 2 dorsal fins which have lostslightly moreof their paint, but that is the only part of this fish that I wouldn't consider spectacular and quite frankly,just incredible. The original eyes are nickel/brass or nickel tacks and like the fins there is negligiblepaint lossas you can see in the many photos. Like a great manyvintage Michigan fishdecoys, it has a bright andappealing appearance and I'm sure could be seenfrom quite a distance in the deep, clear waters ofMichigan, Minnesota or New York with ease!!Excellent addition to your collection of antique or vintage Ice Fishing Spearing Decoys. If you have any questions or would like an additional photo feel free to email me.
USE THE ZOOM FEATURE IN THIS LISTING TO SEE THE INCREDIBLY BRIGHT AND VIVID PAINT AS THE SILVER SIDES BLEND INTO GOLD PAINT AND THEN TO CAMEL ON THE BACK AND CREAM ON THE BOTTOM!!
I COMBINE SHIPPING FOR ANY AND ALL sale ITEMS!!
![AWESOME RARE c1925 Huge 7\](img-large/g/-hAAAOSwq7JUA9gR/s-l1600/AWESOME-RARE-c1925-Huge-7-OSCAR-PETERSON-GOLD-SILV.jpg "AWESOME RARE c1925 Huge 7\")
