This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Eugene "Gene" Wells (c. 1850 – 1930s) Stony Brook, New York [1]
Gene Wells was a mason by trade who lived in Stony Brook on the North Shore of Long Island. When not plastering, Wells spent a good deal of his time in the local marshes studying the wildfowl. He is best remembered for his cork black duck decoys*, which are considered "natural looking, relaxed and contented".
Wells made wooden decoy heads for himself and other carvers which are well shaped and carefully painted. He is credited with a number of broadbills and canvasbacks made of local pine. A widower, Wells left Stony Brook when his daughter married and moved away. His legacy consists of finely carved decoys and stories of his legendary carving skill.
Source: The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury, MD.
Footnote:
[1] The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys (see AskART book references) states – “He lived all his life in the Port Jefferson-Stony Brook area….” M.D. Silverbrooke
Additional sources:
The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys (2000), edited by Joe Engers (see AskART book references)
Decoys: A North American Survey (1983), by Gene Kangas and Linda Kangas (see AskART book references)
Gunners Paradise: Wildfowling and Decoys on Long Island (1979), by Jane E. Townsend (see AskART book references)
Wild Fowl Decoys (1934), by Joel Barber (see AskART book references)
Submitted by M.D. Silverbrooke.
* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary http://
www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx
| |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|