Joel David Barber (1876–1952) was an early 20th-century architect from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
who is best known as an early collector and promoter of
duck decoys as
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
.
Barber began collecting the carved wooden decoys in 1918 after finding one, a
red-breasted merganser
The red-breasted merganser (''Mergus serrator'') is a diving duck, one of the sawbills. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and ''serrator'' is a sawyer from Latin ''serra' ...
hen, by accident near his
Long Island boathouse. In addition to collecting and exhibiting the works, Barber organized decoy carving competitions and produced works of his own. This includes a 1932 exhibition composed of 116 decoys in his own collection and 54 contemporary decoys made by Charles "Shang" Wheeler sponsored by
Abercrombie & Fitch. But his most enduring contribution was his 1934 book ''
Wild Fowl Decoys'' which is considered the seminal work on the subject, and remained the definitive collector's guide for many decades after its publication. The book includes images of decoys designed and made by Barber himself. He also wrote a lesser known work of short stories and poetry, ''
Long Shore'', based on his experiences as an outdoorsman in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
.
Following his death in 1952, Barber's collection of about 400 decoys was given to the
Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...
in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
.
Bibliography
* ''
Wild Fowl Decoys'' (1934)
* ''
Long Shore'' (1939)
See also
*''
Wild Fowl Decoys''
*
Folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
*
Duck hunting
Waterfowl hunting (also called wildfowling or waterfowl shooting in the UK) is the practice of hunting ducks, geese, or other waterfowl for food and sport.
Many types of ducks and geese share the same habitat, have overlapping or identical hunt ...
*
The Dorset House
The Dorset House is an exhibit building at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, United States; it houses the museum's collection of 900 wildfowl decoys.
In 1953, Shelburne Museum purchased Dorset House, dismantled it, and reconstructed it o ...
References
External links
Tools of Deception: A History of American Bird Decoys- Robert Shaw
Shelburne Museum- hosts to a large collection of wildfowl decoys including Barber's collection
- from ISBNdb.com
1876 births
1952 deaths
American short story writers
American art collectors
{{US-architect-stub