Marbled Godwit Decoy with Upturned Bill

New Jersey, probably Cape May area, circa 1880
Softwood, glass eyes, hardwood bill, original paint
Height 7 inches, width 17 inches, depth 2 ¾ inches

The marbled godwit is identified by its distinctive elongated and slightly upturned bill. Marbled godwits are rarities among shorebird decoys. Related examples are illustrated in Adele Earnest, The Art of The Decoy (New York, 1965), p. 57, fig. 37, and William J. Mackey, Jr., American Bird Decoys (New York, 1967), p. 46, pl. 25.

Provenance:
Collection of Ronald Saarinen Swanson (1938–2022), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; David A. Schorsch, New York, 1998; Private collection.

Exhibited:
“American Decoys: A Folk Art Tradition II,” David A. Schorsch, New York, 1998.

Published:
David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, American Decoys: A Folk Art Tradition II (New York and Woodbury, CT, 1998), pp. 86–87, no. 44.