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RARE MINT 1965 SIGNED John Holloway HOLLOW Wigeon Wood Duck Decoy DELAWARE RIVER
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RARE MINT 1965 SIGNED John Holloway HOLLOW Wigeon Wood Duck Decoy DELAWARE RIVER
Price: US $260.55
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MINT CONDITION, RARE; c1965JOHN HOLLOWAY (b. 9-20-1935); DRAKE BALDPATE WIGEON; "HOLLOW" DELAWARE RIVER "GUNNING"or "WORKING" Wood Duck Decoys; WEST CREEK, NEW JERSEY (formerly of Florence, New Jersey)

  • EARLY "Small Model" DECOYS inTRUE FASHION of DELAWARE RIVER (Smaller Size, Raised Primaries, Fluted Tails, Carved Detail toBodies & Bills)
  • AWESOME COMB PAINTand SUPERB BILLS!! (see photos)

Awesome Original Combed Paint, Lead "Pad" Ballast Weights,Brown Taxidermist Glass Eyes& LeatherLine-Ties!!

Beautifully Carved Raised Wings&Fluted Tails! (EXCELLENT PATINAto theOutstanding, ARTIST'S OIL PAINT)

  • FantasticCondition Decoyswithout Even a Scratch or Rub Spot on them!!
  • Great Breast Bulges Up & Forward Like a Real Duck in the Wild When the Head is Tucked!!

Carved in Rig Marking: "JRH"

Signed with Marker: "JOHN R. HOLLOWAY"

John Holloway has Won Many Awards and is Featured in Loy S. Harrell's Book: "Sixty Living and Outstanding North American Carvers"

PROVENANCE: FROM THE WORLD FAMOUS COLLECTION OF KRISTINA BARBARA JOHNSON of PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY (HER COLLECTION STAMP ON BOTTOM)

Kristina Barbara Johnson passed away on April 18, 2013, and was not only well-liked and respected by anyone she met, but was also one of the more respected historians and collectors and was listed as one of America’s Top 100 Collectors in Art and Antiques from 1986-1996. A trustee of the American Folk Art Museum for decades, she was part of a broad and important network of folk art collectors. Her friends and acquaintances were countless and included people from all walks of life, as well as personalities from Warhol to the Kennedys. The single-owner section of Favorites from the Estate of Kristina Barbara Johnson comprises seventy-eight lots in the January sale and is made up of both traditional folk art with works by artists such as Grandma Moses, Micah Williams and William Matthew Prior and twentieth-century Outsider Artists, including Bill Traylor, William Edmonson, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Sam Doyle, William Hawkins and Thorton Dial. The works will be offered within the Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Decorative Arts sale washeld on Friday, January 24 at 10AM at Christie’s New York.

SHIPPING INCLUDES INSURANCE

ABOUT THIS DECOY up for sale: This 50+ year old,very hollowandnicely carved and paintedDrake Baldpate Wigeon decoywas hand carved and paintedbyJohn Holloway(b. 9-20-1935) of West Creek, New Jersey and formerly of Florence, New Jersey. Holloway grew up int West Creek, a mere 2 miles north of Tuckerton. The West Creek/Tuckerton area isundoubtedlytop-of-mind to most collectors, as it was the home totwo of the New Jersey region's most famous carvers, Nathan Rowley Horner and Harry V. Shourds. And the Florence/Roebling area is ingrained in the mind of most collectors as it was the stomping grounds totheDelaware Riverregion's "First Family" of carvers,John English and his two sonsJack and Dan. Even though John Holloway spent most of his life on the Atlantic coast area of West Creek, since this Drake Wigeon and the Hen rig mate also on were carved in the style he so deftly adopted duringthe 14 years that he lived, hunted and carved there, I will begin with information on the Delaware River.

ABOUT THE FLORENCE/ROEBLING AREA OF NEW JERSEY: The Roebling-Florence community is located in Florence Townshipand is withinBurlington County. Roebling-Florence is locatedon the banks of the upperportion the Delaware River, aroundeight miles south of Trenton, New Jersey and directly across the Delaware from Levittown, Pennsylvania.In addition to being theadopted homeof John Holloway from 1958 to 1972, it was also the home to the Famous English family of decoy carvers. Florence Townshipis locatedon the traditionally rich duck hunting banks of the upperportion of the Delaware River and directly across the Delaware Riverfrom Tullytown, Bristol and Levittown, Pennsylvania, which were also home to a myriad of Delaware River duck hunters and decoy carvers.In 1958,John Hollowaymoved to his family from West Creek, New Jersey to Florence, New Jersey and they returned to West Creek in 1972.

MORE ABOUT ROEBLING, NJ: Roebling was founded by Charles Roebling, son of John A. Roebling. John A. Roebling & Sons company built and provided the steel for the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as numerous other bridges including one over Niagara Falls. The steel mill was also responsible for the production of the elevator cables for the Empire State Building in New York City, the Chicago Board of Trade Building in Chicago and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. John A. Roebling & Sons company made the wire for the original slinky as well.

ABOUT THEWEST CREEK/TUCKERTONAREA OF NEW JERSEY: Tuckerton and West Creekare locatedjust south of the world renowned waterfowling grounds of Barnegat Bay and just off the protected brackish waters ofLittle Egg Harbor. Tuckerton was settled by the Tucker family before the American Revolution and along with Barnegat Bay, to the north, their steady growth was fueled in much part to the sporting industry.In addition to being the area where John Holloway grew up and returned to after a 12 year hiatus in Florence, it was also the home to the Famous English family of decoy carvers. The Tuckerton and West Creek area was onceriddled with huge pine forests, sweeping marshes and unpolluted waters; thearea grew into a major hub for deer hunting, salt water fishing, clamming, shorebird hunting and waterfowl hunting and to the degree that it had few equals. The advent of the sink box and market hunting helped dictate the design and construction of the "dugout" Jersey style decoys in the area because of its limited capacity and weight constraints. In addition to the sink boxes, the area had a long history of modestly sized gunning boats and thus the decoys needed to be light and very rarely over-sized.

MORE ABOUT WEST CREEK, NJ: West Creek is an unincorporated community or informal "village" located within Eagleswood Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. The village is named after the stream that runs through it, West Creek. The name "West Creek" is derived from the Lenape word "westeconk," meaning "place of fat meat". Captain Hazelton Seaman built and designed the first sneakbox, the "Devil's Coffin," in 1836, in West Creek, NJ.

John Holloway was born on September 20, 1935 in Haddonfield, New Jersey, a few miles inland from the Delaware River and directly across the river from the south side of Philadelphia. He and his family spent a great deal of time 45 miles to the southwest, in West Creek on the AtlanticOcean. Maybe it is this early duality that inspired Holloway to live as an adult on both the Atlantic Coastas well as on the shores of the Delaware River. It also may be this early exposure to bothbodies of water that inspired him toeventually excel at carving decoys from both of the areas. It is interesting to note thatthe decoys frommany of the New Jersey coastal areas and ones from the Delaware River sharesome basic characteristics and styles, yet are entirely different.John Holloway's father Lewis introduced him to duck and goose hunting at a young age, and the twohunted a great deal with family friend and famous boat builder Harlan Price. The three gunned for waterfowl quite frequently in the Parkertown and shot over a rig of Jay Parker wooden blocks. Jay C. Parker (1882-1967) was raised and lived his entire life in Parkertown, New Jersey and was one of the true baymen as he lived off of and his livelihood depended on the spoils from the bay. Parker was the captain of several schooners that sailed the eastern seaboard from Maine all of the way south to Florida. Parker was a licensed sailing captain and guided fishing parties aboard the Evelyn.In addition to fishing and guiding fishermen, Parkerrounded out his resume with clamming, oystering, duck hunting and guiding duck hunts.Jay Parker was quite the go-getter as he also worked at the well-known Engleside Hotel in Beach Haven, New Jersey on Long Beach Island. He was a cook at the hotel, but he also bought all of their shellfish and fish from other local baymen fro consumption of the hotels guests. If that wasn't enough,Jay Parker was Beach Haven's Very First Lifeguard!!In addition to carving awesome duck and goose decoys, Parker builtGarvey's and sneak boxes from native Jersey cedar for not only himself, but also for many of the other local baymen. His earliest decoys were solely for his personaluse and it wouldn't bethe 1940'sthat he started to carve commercially. Parker lived right onRte. 9 and the natural visibility of his front porch to passers-by led to a great many purchases. It is for this reason that he used his front porch as his own little showroom to display his carvings and creations. As time went on, Parker diversified from strictly carving duck,goose and shorebird decoys and he began to carve game birds, birds of prey, chickens, roosters, fish and even model boats. His style and form ranged from full sized to miniature, flying to feeders and sleepers to preeners.

VINTAGE PHOTO OFJAY PARKER (1882-1967) OF PARKERTOWN, NEW JERSEY!!

VINTAGE c1995 PHOTO OF MR. JOHN HOLLOWAY OF FLORENCE & WEST CREEK, NEW JERSEY!!

In 1949,at the age of 14, John Holloway started his illustrious carving carver. With the guidance and tutelage of Jay Parker, Holloway had soon enough not only carved his first rig of decoys, but also hunted over them. Holloway was never satisfied though, and he continually asked Parker for more assistance and guidance on decoy making and once when he was askedwhat Parker may have thought about his persistence, he said, "I Must Have Been A Real Pest". For the next 7 years Holloway made decoys, buthe quit in 1956 when he married his wife Ruth and soon enoughwere parents to theirson Bret, and their daughter Robin. These newfoundresponsibilities along withthe inherent time and financial demands, leftno time left for carving decoys.

AWESOME & VINTAGE RIG OF JOHN HOLLOWAY GREEN-WINGED TEAL GUNNING BIRDS!!

However, that all changed in 1958 when Holloway moved his family to the world famous gunning and carving mecca on the Delaware River, Florence, New Jersey. Just being in this historic Delaware River gunning and carving area was enough toreignite his interest in decoy carving and duck gunning.He also found out that the traditions and the naturalintensity of the carvers and waterfowlers, mirrored what he had found and was used to,an hours driveeast in the Tuckerton area of theJersey coast. And it was now a precursor of things to come, a man that would spend his carving days making wonderful and perfect decoys from two of America's most regarded decoy carving regions or schools. Whileliving in Florence on the mighty Delaware, Holloway developed a close friendship with fellow carver and hunter Charley Wargo, and this wasmuch of the impetus that rekindled John Holloway'sfire to carve decoys again. The two men were known to frequent a gunning area on the Delaware known as the "bend in the channel", an area on the river near Florence. It didn't take long for Holloway to get back into the groove, as he would soon be carving at a professional level again and entering his awesome works into tournaments and decoy carving competitions. In 1968, Hollowayentered some of his decoys in the first ward Foundation World Championships in Salisbury, Maryland andhe also enteredhis work intoThe Nationals in Babylon, New York on Long Island. Holloway had instant success in the professional class and for a stretch of 3 years his red-breasted and hooded mergansers ran away with first place honors. These early competitions were also a sort of a social gathering and Holloway enjoyed attending the shows with local carvers and competitors Jim West, Herb Miller and of course his long-time friend CharleyWargo. It was also this time that Holloway carved 12 Delaware River style black ducks for his personal rig and two of the decoys from this rig are now prominently displayedin the Noyes Museum in Oceanville, New Jersey.

EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF ONE OF JOHN HOLLOWAY'S AWESOME DELAWARE RIVERBLACK DUCKSSIMILAR TOTHE ONES IN THE NOYES MUSEUM!!

EARLY JOHN HOLLOWAY GOOSE, THIS DECOY WAS CARVED WITH THE FORM AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE BARNEGAT BAY SCHOOL OF CARVING!!

As fate would have it, in 1972 Holloway returned to his beloved West Creek near Tuckerton and he resumedthe pursuits of a baymen.In addition to his decoy carving, he also did the traditional clamming, fishing, crabbing, hunting and fishing. He was soon to discover, though, thatthe demand for his decoys had grown to such a level that he could earna larger income by carving decoys full time. He was producing decoys in both thestyle and construction of not only the Delaware River, but also the New Jersey coast. His outstanding decoys from both schoolswere all made hollow and were painted with fine oil paints. John Holloway has always used the traditional tools of the trade including a gouge to shape the body of the decoy. While most carvers would use a spokeshave or draw-knife, hehas explained that he has simply always used gouges for whatever reason.Much like he was once the student during while in his youth and with Jay Parker, he himself was the teacher as he taughtcarving for several years at nearby Pinelands High School and ironically he instructed his students to use a spokeshave instead of a gouge. He funny anecdote is that he professed thata spokeshave was "far more efficient". At one point Holloway took a break from carving andin 1983when he was wondering if he still had what it took, he carved a brant decoy and entered it into the Ward Foundation championship where it took first place. This was certainly a great way to exit the arena, as this would bethe time he would enter a decoyinto a national show or contest. He still, however entered local shows and he was successful in winning many ribbonsat the Old Time Barnegat Bay Decoy and Gunning Shows that started in 1983, a show that he himself was integral in the development and implementation of. He also took on a new trade and building quality duck boats with the aid of long-time friend and renowned boat builderHarlan Price. He couldn't have picked a better mentor in this new endeavor as the Price Family contains 13 generations of sea captains and boat builders. Through the mid-1990's he had made ten boats in two different style. One was the traditional Barnegat Bay sneakbox and the other the legendary Delaware River rail skiff.Muchis the case with other carvers, Holloway amassed his own decoy collection over the years andhe obtained his first decoy in 1949, a Taylor Johnson goldeneye. While this particular decoy was a Jersey coast bird, he concentrated his efforts on decoys from the Delaware River school and his favorites were those made by JohnEnglish, Dan English and Jess Heisler. Over the course of his carving career John Holloway has carved over 2000 decoys and garnered more than 100 ribbons, all keeping his eye on his other favorite pursuits, those of a jersey coast bayman.


VINTAGE c1995 PHOTO OF JOHN HOLLOWAY AND HIS NEPHEW JEFFWITH A BARNEGAT BAY SNEAKBOX AND A DELAWARE RIVER SKIFF THEY MADE!!!!

This pair of Baldpate Wigeon decoys up for sale are made in the tradition of the decoys made by the carvers of the Delaware River school. The decoys of the Delaware river rated among the finest in the country when it came down to the beauty of the carving and painting.Like many areas in the country, and like thispair ofJohn Holloway Baldpate'sup for sale, the decoys were typically made with either white pine or cedar for the bodies and white pine for the heads; andmost hada rectangular shaped"pad"ballast weight nailed or screwed on to the bottom, just likethose usedin a great many areas on the Atlantic coast and this pair ofBaldpate Wigeon birdsup for sale.The Delaware decoys were also painted with oil-based paints and some carverscoated their decoys with a mix of beeswax melted in gasoline as a top coat preservative.The method of hunting on the Delaware River, much like Mr.Holloway in hisFlorence gunning days,dictated that the decoys that were used were as realistic as possible. The typical hunter used a double-ended sculling boat to sneak up and bushwhack ducks. The hunters would set up their rig of decoys at known feeding grounds, then anchor upstream or upwindand wait forducks to land in the decoys. When the birds landed they would scull slowly toward the decoyswhile ducked behind theslightly raisedcowling or a raisededge or lip on the front of the boat's compartment construction. This "sculling" method of hunting is almost identical to the "screen"boat hunters in Ontario or the "sneak" boat shooters on Lake St. Clair between Michigan and Canada. The Ontario screeners wouldoften be on shore andoar toward the decoys hiding behind a medium height, horizontally shaped screenthat acted like a shield and was often thatched with vegetation to match the shore background behind them. The Lake St. Clair, Michigan "sneak" boats have a similarly shaped shield to the Ontario "screeners",but since the sneaksare inopen water with no perceivable background, the shield and boat are/were both painted the same colorand closely matchthe color of the water they hunted. Vital to these ambush type styles of hunting, like the Delaware scullers, the decoys must be very realistic looking and perform life-like in the water to "hold" the birds in the decoys until the hunter gets close enough to shoot.The decoys hadto have a relaxed appearance like tucked heads or sleepers and they needed to swim perfectly in anywater conditions with no yawing, slapping or jerking as to not spook the holding ducks. Considering themild currents of theDelaware River in the late 1800's and early 1900's, the smaller, very hollowed decoys of the time with theirrealistic paint jobswere considered some of the finest in the country. Most of the decoys, like thispair of GreatBaldpatesup for sale, had relaxed, tucked or sleeping posed heads to convey an attitude of a contented duck with little or no sense of danger to alarm the sitting birds. Size was a major factor as the sculling boats had limited room for gear so the smaller size afforded a larger number of decoys in the set. Another factor increatingan incrediblyrealistic looking and high performing decoy is the amount of competition for premium hunting spots on the river. In the hey-day of Delaware River hunting, when a large number of hunters were operating rigs on the river, hunters were very territorial which led to many decoy thefts.Also, from a creative standpoint, with a great number ofhunters competing for wild ducks withinclose proximity to other rigs, carvers attempted to outdo their neighbors by making a more realistic, better performing decoy to get an edge. With all of these factors in mind, the typical Delaware River decoy was full-breasted and hollow constructed in the 2-piece manner for lightness and good buoyancy. Most of the decoys had fine glass eyes, a relaxed appearance and extremely well carved wing and tail detail like thisBaldpateup for sale. The wings on thisPair ofWigeonwere carved raised and with beautiful and perfectly symmetrical carving detail. The nicely carved tail is detailed with nice fluting.It is also evident that the further downriver you got, the Delaware school of carverspaid less attention to carving detail, especially in the wings and tail. This was in part due to the decrease in the hunting pressure as the river widened substantially and competition thinned out dramatically. The realistic paint patterns were more consistent throughout the school of carvers, but like thisPair ofBaldpate Wigeonup for sale, the paintdetail did increase the further upstream you went.

VINTAGE JOHN HOLLOWAY SHOVELER CARVED IN THE DELAWARERIVER SCHOOL!!

The group of carvers that make up the Delaware School of carvers includes many of the finest master carvers on or near the eastern seaboard. The area encompassed by this awesome network of carvers stretches roughly from the Delaware River near Trenton, New Jersey to the north and south to Philadelphia and Delaware Bay. Midway in between were the three most prominent carving communities, Bordentown and Florence in New Jersey, and the Bristol area of Pennsylvania. The carver heritage, in addition to John Holloway,includes the likes ofJohnEnglish (1852-1915)and his sons Jack (1874-1944)andDan (1883-1962)from Florence, New Jersey; John Dawson (1889-1959)of Trenton, John McLaughlin (b. 1911) of Bordentown, New Jersey;Bill Quinn (1915-1969)of Yardley Pennsylvania; Jess Heisler (1891-1943) of Burlington, New Jersey, John Heisler of Bordentown, New Jersey;Paul Green of Yardville, New Jersey; J. Baker of Edgely, Pennsylvania; Tom Fitzpatrick of Delanco, New Jersey; Lawrence McLaughlin of Edgely, Pennsylvania; Reg Marter of Delanco, New Jersey; Al Reitz of Croyden, Pennsylvania; Lou Boldizar of Roebling, New Jerseyand of course Miller's elder friend Joe King. Tony Bianco, Richard Andersonand James West are a few names that come to mind from various areas. Given the proximity ofthese carvers to each other and the overlap of their hunting grounds, many knew each other and thus the profound influence that reciprocated between them of styles and construction techniques.

These were the vintage carvers of the late 1800's and well into the firsthalf of the 20th century. Their smaller size and well-hollowed decoy's construction made them very transportable and effective but things changed significantly in the coming years. Starting in the 1920's and continuing until 1940, the river changed dramatically and thus did the vintage decoys. During this time, the Delaware River was dredged from its average depth of 12 feet to produce a 40 foot deep channel to accommodate the shipping requirements of the steel mills in Trenton, NJ. The Army Corps. of Engineers then used the dredged sand to straighten the direction of the river by filling in the surrounding flats and eddys, which reclaimed thousands of marshland and in doing so increased the rate of current of the river. The wonderful decoys that were carved from around 1870 to 1920 were small, 2-piece hollow construction andround, graceful, streamlined bodies that worked superbly in the slower, shallower water had to change. After the river was artificiallyreconfigured, the Delaware became faster anddeeper particularly during tidal changes which presented new challenges. To adjust to these new conditions while the alterations to the river were taking place, carvers adjusted to make their decoys with flatter bottoms and less hollowed to enhance their water-riding ability. As time went on they changed even more.When the river dredging and filling was completed,the decoyswere madebigger, more blocky and completely flat-bottomed with barge-like sides.Also, the rectangular bottom weights that were always located in the bottom center of the decoyandprimary function was to keep the decoy righted, were moved to the back of the decoy to keep the decoy righted and swimming correctly in the faster current and rougher top water. With the deeper water anddisappearance of the flats, marshland, potholes and shallower water conducive to plant-life andprotection, there no longer existed the attractive environment for migrating and nesting waterfowl and hence the duck hunting and the pursuit of waterfowl declined exponentially, thus ending the reign of the turn of the century, vintage Delaware River duck decoy.

John Holloway hascarved many puddle ducks withperfect, raised and carved wing tipslike thisPair ofBaldpatesup for sale,and theyall haveextraordinary paint jobs and many like this drake wigeonhave exquisite comb painting. Like most Delaware River carvers and like this pair of wigeon, many of Holloway's decoys are known for their low heads (a great manyresting on the chest), in a complacent, relaxed posture withnicely carved in tail feathers and very intricately painted wing tips and perfect blending between feather groups. Also like thispair ofWigeonup for sale, heis known for hissleek heads withdeliberate and deepeye-line indentationsandbrow ridgeswith wonderfully carved in nostrils, bill/head delineation,upper and lowermandibles that run the full length of the bill and a perfectly executed nail carved perfectly into the bill's end.John Holloway'sdecoys are also noted forbeing very light andhollow and also for their, rectangular "forged and brass nailed" lead "pad-shaped" ballast weights.John Holloway's Delaware River school decoys were constructed with the traditional 2 piece, holloweddesignlike this pair ofBaldpates up for sale.

The paint on thisPair ofBaldpate Wigeondecoys up for saleis in pristine, mintoriginal condition, and as you can see by the many close up photos the thick, original coat of oil-based artist's paint has very nice patina. The drake has a paint job that I would put up against any other decoy that I have held and had a chance to look at closely in recent days. The comb painting on the drake is extraordinary on the back feathering and the sides and it covers the entire surface except where it is temporarily interrupted for the pinfeathers on the back and speculums on the sides. The daubed feather painting on the breast gives a 3-dimensional touch and feel and the very tiny feather painting detail on the head is quite exquisite. The feather blending on both of these decoys is phenomenal, not only in the individual feathering but also between feather groups. Although the hen does not have comb painting, it probably wouldn't have looked right anyway. In order to capture the diversity in the coloring of the individual feathers, Holloway went the extra nine yards and detailed them individually with some very fine brush work. The feathers on the back were painted with excellent straight line brush work and the sides and breast were beautifully detailed like the breast on the drake with textured brush daubing. The head on the hen is beautifully detailed like the drake, although with much more work which is typical for a hen.Both of these decoys have leather line ties that were attached with small brass wire nails or brads and Mr. Holloway carved in his initials as rig marks. He also signed both details and since the signatures are both bright and intact, I doubt whether these decoys were hunted over or even seen water. Thispairof decoysare alsoinPerfect originalcondition, andthey areas solid as the daythat theyleft John Holloway's work bench.Theyare alsoperfectly symmetrically carved and painted and from a structural standpoint these decoysare also mint. The billsare absolutelyextraordinarily accurately carved and have perfect head/bill separation, nostrils, upper and lower mandibles, nailsand the heads and necks were so perfectly carved that he had noneed for neck putty wherethey wereattached to the"cut in"head shelf. The full breastsare also nicely carved as they bulge up and forward just as a real duck's neck does when it is tucked back. This vintage pair ofJohn Hollowaydecoysare as solid as the daythat they weremade, and I am quite sure that they have been protected in the temperature controlled environment of not only Ms. Johnson's collection, but also any collections they may have been in before they were added to hers. ThisDrakewascarved life-sized in the manner of most Delaware River decoys andmeasures13-3/4" long x 5" wide x a modest 5-3/4" tall and weighs a very rig-manageable1-lb., 10-ozs. The equally impressive Rig-Mate hen measures 13-5/8" long x 5-1/8" wide x 5-7/8" tall and weighs a very rig-manageable1-lb., 11-ozs. These measurements are almost exactly the same which makes this pair of rig-mate decoys an exceptionally carved and constructed pair of rig-mated decoys.This trulyawesome pair ofDelaware River decoyswould make a great addition to any collection of historic duck decoys and shorebirds. If you have any questions or would like any additional photos feel free to email me.Thanks for looking.

The first photo is of this awesome John Holloway Drake Baldpate Wigeon decoy up for sale and it is followed by 12 photos of what this drake and the hen rig-mate that is also on look like together. The last 11 photos are also of this drake by itself and the photos were taken from a variety of angles and from several distances.

PROVENANCE: KRISTINA BARBARA JOHNSON;(Princeton, NJ)

PHOTO of the Late KRISTINA BARBARA JOHNSON of Princeton, New Jersey

PROVENANCE: FROM THE WORLD FAMOUS COLLECTION OF KRISTINA BARBARA JOHNSON of PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY (HER COLLECTION STAMP ON BOTTOM)

Kristina was a lawyer, art collector and lover of life and all that life had to offer. She lived large; her energy inextinguishable. Guided by her heart, she left an inedible mark on everyone she met.

Born in Berlin, Germany, Kristina came to this country as a student. Her early career was in modeling and advertising. She was an agent for Andy Warhol, Raymond Savignac, Man Ray and other pop culture icons of the time. Versed in several languages, she specialized in engaging foreign artists for American journals and Life magazine.

From cowboys to cars, Kristina became enthralled by anything quintessentially American. She amassed the largest single-owner collection of whaling artifacts, books and manuscripts and became a leading historian in the field. She founded the Whale Research Foundation, Princeton, N.J.

In the mid-80s, she sent the collection off into the world with four sales at Sotheby’s and two sales at Swann Galleries. She donated her meticulously indexed library to a maritime historical society in San Francisco.

Kristina served on several nonprofit governance boards, including the Arts Council of Princeton, the American Folk Art Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, The National Maritime Society and the New Jersey Ballet Company.

Her service to the American Folk Art Museum in New York City spanned over 40 years. During this time, she curated several exhibitions, inaugurated an annual lecture series and created a scholarship fund for the Folk Art Institute. She established and contributed to The Clarion, which evolved into one of the most respected scholarly journals in the field of folk art.

Kristina authored, contributed to or was featured in a multitude of news journals, books and other publications including Art and sale (where she was an associate editor), Arts and Antiques (where she was featured as one of America’s 100 Top Collectors for three consecutive years), Town and Country, Forbes, Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket; Money, Life and the Time-Life books series. She was featured in two nationally televised programs, including Good Morning America.

She lectured nationally and internationally at such venues as the Smithsonian, DAR (D.C.), the Melville Society, Mystic Seaport, the New York and New Jersey Historical Societies, Princeton University, NYU and the American Museum in Bath, England. Kristina was nominated as one of four candidates for Woman of the Year for the Arts at a Bicentennial Celebration sponsored by the Smithsonian in 1974.

Voluntary and paid consulting jobs included the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum, American Association of Museums, Ford Foundation; Time-Life Publications, the White House (twice) and Gracie Mansion. She was an advisor to the Ford Foundation, American Federation of the Arts and the Nantucket Whaling Museum.

She curated, consulted for and contributed to a multitude of exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum, The American Folk Art Museum, the Nantucket and New Bedford Whaling Museums and others. She was most proud of her renowned hooked rug show, “American Classics” in Princeton.

Perhaps the accomplishment of which Kristina took the most pride was becoming a lawyer in 1978. She authored several legal publications and applied herself to intellectual property where she could combine her love for art with her new-found education. She also loved to collect and drive vintage American cars.






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