Illinois River Decoys - Master Carvers
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Image 1The Elliston family posing outside of their home in Bureau, IL. Robert stands at the far right, with Catherine standing by the mailbox.Photograph courtesy of Donna Tonelli
Image 2Robert EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)painted by Catherine EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)decoy: mallard hen sleeper, circa 1900white pine, pigmentLent by Donald and Almira Clark
Image 3Robert EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)painted by Catherine EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)decoy: pintail drake, circa 1900white pine, pigmentMuseum Purchase with funds contributed by Lowell “Bud” and Alice Grieves 1994.33
Image 4 (detail)Robert EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)painted by Catherine EllistonBureau, IL (1849-1915)decoy: pintail drake, circa 1900white pine, pigmentMuseum Purchase with funds contributed by Lowell “Bud” and Alice Grieves 1994.33
Image 5Charles WalkerImage courtesy of Lucille Walker
Image 6Charles WalkerPrinceton, IL (1876-1954)decoy: mallard drake silhouette, circa 1925white pine, metal, glassGift of Merle and Barbara Glick 2001.18
Image 7G. Bert Graves poses with his brother-in-law, George Snider, after a day’s shoot on Upper Peoria Lake. Circa 1920.Photograph courtesy of Donna Tonelli
Image 8G. Bert GravesPeoria, (1880-1956)decoy: mallard hen sleeper, circa 1930white pine, oil paint, glassGift of Paul Prutsman 1994.6.2
Image 9G. Bert GravesPeoria, (1880-1956)decoy: mallard hen and drake, circa 1940white pine, pigmentGift of Earl I. Swords 1989.13.3.1-2
Image 10Charles Schoenheider, Sr. supplemented his income as a carpenter and fed his nine children by hunting for the market.Photograph courtesy of Merle Glick
Image 11Charles Schoenheider, Sr.Peoria, IL (1854-1944)decoy: mallard hen, circa 1920wood, pigmentGift of the Bernard Vonk Family 1996.15
Image 12Charles Schoenheider, Sr.Peoria, IL (1854-1944)painted by Jack FranksPeoria, IL (life dates unknown)decoy: standing mallard drake, circa 1915wood, pigment, cast ironGift of Merle and Barbara Glick 2001.19
Image 13Charles and Edna Perdew. Photograph by Joseph French, circa 1955.Photograph courtesy of Donna Tonelli
Image 14Charles PerdewHenry, IL (1874-1963)decoy: crow, circa 1940white pine, pigmentGift of Wesley “Bud” Hinck 2006.3
Image 15Charles PerdewHenry, IL (1874-1963)fancy duck call, circa 1945mahogany, plasticGift of Mrs. Donald G. Beste 1996.29
Image 16Charles PerdewHenry, IL (1874-1963)painted by Edna PerdewHenry, IL (1882-1974)decoy: bluebill drake, 1915wood, pigmentGift of Richard Uilhein 2003.24
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There are five carvers of Illinois River decoys who are considered the best of the best. Many partnered with another artist who painted the decoys. Read the biographies below to learn more about these acclaimed folk artists. Robert A. Elliston 1849-1915One of the first professional decoy carvers along the IL River, Ellison created thousands of decoys for sale to the hunters who came to Lake Senachwine in Bureau County during the fall and winter duck and geese migrations. Before moving to Bureau, Illinois around 1889, Elliston had been employed in South Bend, Indiana, St. Louis, and Lacon, Illinois, as a builder and designer of buggies, carriages, and hearses. However, by the late 1880s he and his wife, Catherine, were able to devote themselves to full time production of decoys and to raising bees (Image 1). Elliston decoys are known for their naturalism. The carver introduced to Illinois the naturalistic “sleeper hen” form, in which the hen turns its head back in a graceful position characteristic of a sleeping or preening duck (Image 2). One way to distinguish an Elliston decoy from the work of another carver is by the “chunky” carving of his heads, with their angular peaks, flat square brows, and the high placement of the eyes. Catherine Elliston 1849-1953Catherine Cumminskey married Robert Elliston after his first wife, Margaret (Catherine’s sister) and their newborn son died of influenza. Catherine painted her husband’s carvings, relying on actual birds as models for her imaginative, elegant solutions to recreating the markings of the varied species (Image 3). She often used a graining comb to produce wavy textures in a white-lead basecoat, simulating the texture of feathers (Image 4). Catherine applied large blocks of color freely but accurately, and articulated details in the head and patterns in the body with confident, rhythmic brushstrokes. She continued painting after Robert’s death in 1915, when many decoy carvers continued to seek her skills, including G. Bert Graves. Catherine taught his sister and sister-in-law, Nellie and Effie Graves, to paint as well, and their work emulates hers. Charles Walker 1876-1954Walker (Image 5) stands somewhat apart from the other master carvers of Illinois River decoys. He did not begin to make decoys seriously until he was in his late 40s, and even then did not undertake it as a full-time profession. Of the several hundred decoys he made, most were mallards, with only a few dozen other duck species represented, and almost all were made for his own use or sold to members of the Princeton Game and Fish Club (Image 6). Walker decoys are notable for the gently protruding contour formed by the neck and breast, unlike the full-rounded breast of the classic Illinois River decoy. Aided perhaps by his occupation as a housepainter and decorator, Walker was very successful as a decoy painter. He used a high quality paint that has helped to preserve the richness of his colors, especially the green heads of the mallard drakes. Walker was also particularly skillful with the graining comb, inscribing a variety of feather-like patterns into the wet paint. To increase naturalism, many Walker decoys have wings carved in relief and heads turned slightly to one side. G. Bert Graves 1887-1956Graves (Image 7), a Peoria carpenter and one-time policeman, produced decoys during the 1930s and 1940s for commercial sale throughout the Midwest, often to affluent duck hunters who sought high-quality birds (Image 8). Graves emulated the style of Robert Elliston, the earliest master carver of Illinois River decoys. Elliston’s widow, Catherine, painted some of Graves’s decoys and taught his family members her techniques. Graves’s sister, sister-in-law, and son all painted his decoys, in a somewhat looser style than that of Catherine Elliston. Among Graves’s finest decoys are his over-size mallards (Image 9). Measuring 22 ½ inches long, the larger-than-life decoys are more easily spotted by overflying ducks. The sculptural appeal and relative rarity of these majestic decoys make them a prized pair. Charles Schoenheider, Sr. 1854-1944A woodworker by trade and a hunter for the meat market during the day when that occupation was legal, Schoenheider (Image 10) was drawn to decoy carving. During a fifty-year career of supplying sportsmen with his carvings, Schoenheider made approximately 3,000 decoys, representing most of the waterfowl species indigenous to the region (Image 11). Schoenheider’s decoys tend to be smooth, sleek forms painted with simplified patterns. Schoenheider’s one-footed standing ducks and geese have an almost regal dignity and are his best known works (Image 12). Known as “ice ducks”, these decoys were used on frozen ponds and in fields for late winter hunting. Charles Perdew 1874-1963Born near Henry, IL, Perdew (Image 13) was a hunter, a carver of decoys, and something of a mechanical genius whose deep streak of independence led him build his own house, his own car, and even his dentures. Probably the most widely know Illinois River decoy carver, Perdew consistently produced well-crafted, handsome birds from the late 1890s until 1960 (Image 14). Perdew made many decoys, but perhaps his greatest contribution to the wildfowl hunting were the thousands of duck calls and crow calls he made and sold to hunters (Image 15). The calls decorated with relief carvings, made for Perdew’s friends and special customers, exemplify folk art at its finest. Edna Perdew 1882-1974The oldest daughter of a restaurateur and professional painter, Edna met and married Charles Perdew at the start of his burgeoning business. So began one of the most successful artistic partnerships in decoy carving history. Edna painted most of her husband’s carving until 1942 (Image 16), when her health prevented her from working with oil paints. Although Perdew briefly studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, it is Edna’s painting, developed from her childhood, which commands such attention today. In addition to Perdew’s decoys, Edna painted for many other carvers who admired her softly swirled painting technique. Discussion Questions:Talk about the subject:Talk about the history of the era:Talk about craftsmanship:Related Activity Idea:Match the Bird and the DecoyAre you a member of the School Loan Program? Taxidermied duck specimens are available for checkout if you would like to show students what actual ducks look like. Ask for kit 62-10. Sources:“Masterworks of the Illinois River” by Stephen B. O’ Brien Jr. and Julie Carlson, 2005“Harvesting the River” by the Illinois State Museum"Decoys and Decoy Carvers of Illinois” by Paul W. Parmalee and Forrest D. Loomis, 1969 |
