"A 'Hudson' Shorebird"

     Ira Hudson (1876-1949), of Chincoteague, Virginia is considered to be one of the greatest of the old time decoy makers.  Before he died he estimated that he carved between ten and twenty thousand decoys in his lifetime.  Fortunately, many Hudson’s still exist in private collections as well as in museums around the country.  It is not uncommon for an Ira Hudson decoy, whether it is a duck, goose or a shorebird, to fetch $25,000 or more at auction.  His average price when he was making decoys was around $12 for a dozen duck decoys, up to $35 for a dozen geese.  A hen bufflehead that probably sold for less than $2 in the 1930’s recently sold at auction for $37,000. A shorebird (a ‘Yellowlegs’) similar to the one in my painting recently brought $47,000.

     I have had quite a few Ira Hudson decoys in my collection over the years and I have used nearly every one of them as subject matter for paintings, including some major pieces.  Usually these were painted on shelves or in old cabinets, often with books, guns, shell boxes and other memorabilia.  I have also done paintings of shorebird decoys like this one on shelves or mantels, or in cabinets. They are great fun to paint.

     Mark McNair, a friend and superb contemporary decoy maker calls shorebird decoys “feelies,” because they are so wonderful to hold and turn in your hand while you look at them from all different angles. Only a serious collector or student of the decoy can understand that statement, but I couldn’t agree more.  It’s a passion that’s hard to explain.

     One day I got the idea to take a few of my shorebird decoys out to the beach to put them in a setting such as they might have been in back in 1920.  Several paintings came out of that trip to the beach; this is the last one remaining.  This is truly an elegant little decoy and it was a joy to paint in what I think is a perfect setting.

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