EASTON — Guyette & Deeter will hold their 31st annual fall decoy auction on Thursday, November 9, 2017. There will be a preview on Wednesday, November 8 beginning at 12 noon with a preview cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception from 6 – 8pm. There will also be a preview prior to the auction on Thursday from 8 – 9:45am. The sale, which has a projected gross over 2 million dollars, will be held at the Talbot County Community Center, on Route 50 in Easton, Maryland. Over 400 decoys and related items will be sold with prices ranging from $150 - $175,000. A decoy buy, sell, and swap meet will be held in the parking lot, with an additional 50 tables of decoy exhibitors set up inside the hall, Tuesday, November 7 through Thursday, November 9, 2017. The auction and show is open to the public, and there is no admission fee. Guyette & Deeter also features online bidding through www.invaluable.com. The auction will be held in conjunction with the country’s premier decoy show, the Easton Waterfowl Festival. More information on the Waterfowl Festival is available at 410-822-4567.

This year’s sale will feature the collections of Donald and Betty Denny, Bill and Barbara Doggart, Otis Dozier, Larry Hughes, Elizabeth Kfoury, Harry Lee, Anthony Marro, Tom Randon, the Lloyd Tyler Family, and Betty Williford.

Many great examples from carvers including the Ward Brothers, Mark McNair, Daniel Lake Leeds, Nathan Cobb, and Ira Hudson are included. Other highlights in the sale include an exceedingly rare and important calling greenwing teal drake by noted carver Elmer Crowell of East Harwich, Massachusetts, and “Lions on Kill,” an acrylic on board by Bob Kuhn.

The Kuhn painting has been consigned by a New England conservation organization. It has been in their collection for many years and has never been offered for sale at auction. Bob Kuhn is a name synonymous with wildlife art and excellence for over 50 years. He was born in Buffalo, New York and educated at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where he studied design, anatomy, and life-drawing. For the next 30 years, he was one of the most popular wildlife illustrators in America before turning to easel painting full time in 1970. Kuhn traveled around the world to obtain inspiration, with many of his wildlife expeditions lasting eight weeks. He made countless trips to Africa, six trips to Alaska, numerous journeys into Canada East and West and numerous trips to the American West.

Kuhn’s first love was perhaps African wildlife art, but in later years he concentrated on North American wildlife. Kuhn often painted simple backgrounds with horizontal bands of color and light. He worked primarily in acrylic and was well known for his ability to paint the particular movements and personalities of wild animals.

Guyette & Deeter is the world’s largest decoy auction firm with over $170,000,000 in decoy sales. They hold four decoy auctions per year in different locations across the United States. In 2007, Guyette & Deeter sold over $14,000,000 worth of decoys at auction. In January of that year, Guyette & Deeter, in conjunction with Christie’s New York, set a new auction record for a decoy when they sold a hollow-carved merganser hen by Lothrop Holmes for $856,000.

Guyette & Deeter operates an online auction “Decoys for Sale,” www.decoysforsale.com, which debuted in May of 2013 with weekly sales. These auctions include decoys, duck calls, shotgun shell boxes, and sporting collectibles. The auctions feature guaranteed descriptions, multiple photos and fast shipping. Contact Zac Cote for online auction information: zcote@guyetteanddeeter.com, 410-253-8616.

Guyette & Deeter provides free decoy appraisals to anyone sending a decoy photo and stamped, self-addressed envelope to either: Guyette & Deeter, Inc., PO Box 1170, St. Michaels, MD 21663. Phone: 410-745-0485, or by email to decoys@guyetteanddeeter.com, or to Jon Deeter, 7980 Darbys Run, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023 or by email to jdeeter@guyetteanddeeter.com.

Top photo, an important pair of bluewing teal by Lloyd Sterling. Both have fine scratch paint detail. Drake has slightly turned head. A gift from the Ward Brothers to Jim McLane. Below, an exceptional swimming Bishop’s head style Canada goose by the Ward Brothers. Fine feather paint detail on the body, including the breast. Well sculpted, slightly turned and lifted head. From the estate of Kenned Jard, Virginia Beach.[/caption]