"Verity" Style Black Breasted Plover

This chubby little bird is based on a decoy that I used in a painting a few years back.  It was made by Obediah Verity of Seaford (Long Island), NY, sometime around 1880.  Verity was one of several great decoy makers on the south shore of Long Island.  Several fine Verity Bluebills reside in museum and private collections, but he was a more prolific carver of shorebirds.  The majority of his shorebirds were Black Breasted Plover and Sanderlings, commonly called “Peeps.”   The quirky, fat little Peeps routinely bring $30,000 or more, and the Black Breasted Plovers in original paint fetch even more.  In 2000, a Black Breasted Plover in a feeding position sold at auction for over $156,000. Interestingly, Verity applied his outstanding paint jobs with a chewed wooden stick. Whatever works!

Knowing I could never afford an original Obediah Verity (most of us can’t!), the next best thing would be to have a really good reproduction.  I have made several reproductions based on various Verity birds. The fun for me, as an artist, is learning the various painting techniques of these great old timers.   This bird is carved from juniper, painted (with a stick) and aged just enough. (Call me if you’d like it aged more.)  My initials are carved on the bottom, and it comes, of course, with a wooden stand.

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