Arthur Nevin Mallard Hen Duck Decoy Print

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Description

American Original: Arthur Nevin's Decoy Print

Object: Print, Limited Edition (45/150)
Artist: Arthur Nevin (b. 1929, American)
Subject Inscription: Mallard … Read more American Original: Arthur Nevin's Decoy Print

Object: Print, Limited Edition (45/150)
Artist: Arthur Nevin (b. 1929, American)
Subject Inscription: Mallard Hen Decoy, Bay Head, New Jersey, 1920
Date: Circa 1980

Dimensions: 23 5/8 inches x 30 5/8 inches x 5/8 inches (Framed).

This handsome, signed and numbered print by Arthur Nevin depicts a stark, idealized portrait of a Mallard Hen Decoy . The inscription identifies the original decoy as having been carved in Bay Head, New Jersey, in 1920. Nevin, who specialized in the painting and etching of wildfowl decoys, confines his attention entirely to the subject, rendering the decoy's form with clarity and respect. The work is a limited edition print, numbered 45 out of 150, signed by the artist.

Historical Context: Decoys as American Folk Art

Nevin's commitment to the decoy as an artistic subject is deeply rooted in his personal history and conviction. Born in New York in 1929, he developed an interest in wildfowl decoys while hunting with his father. He was heavily influenced by Joel Barber, one of the earliest serious collectors to champion decoys as a legitimate art form rather than mere utilitarian tools.

Nevin famously confined his artistic work almost entirely to the study of these objects, believing them to be "the only true original American art form." By rendering a $20^{th}$-century hunting decoy using a sophisticated European printmaking technique (intaglio/etching), Nevin elevates the decoy from folk craft to a subject worthy of academic fine art. His work not only documents the decoy's form but also places it within the larger narrative of American cultural history.

References

Barber, Joel: Wildfowl Decoys (foundational text influencing Nevin).

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