The Sporting Sale 2009
Copley’s Sporting Sale 2009 shot over its $3.5 million low estimate settling in at $4.16 million, making it the most successful in the company’s history. The centerpiece and highlight of the sporting sale was the Harry V. Long Collection of A. Elmer Crowell Decoys. The first Long decoy up on the block, a preening pintail, sold for $546,250 to a bidder in the room. The plump oversized merganser sold just over the high estimate for $207,000 to a Massachusetts collector. Bringing in more than any individual item in the auction, the nesting Canada goose sold for $661,250. Next, the calling yellowlegs brought $172,500 and more than tripled the previous auction record for any Crowell yellowlegs. Of this historic offering, O’Brien said after the auction, “We were very pleased with the results of the Long collection. It was a terrific group of decoys and a tribute to the exceptional foresight of Harry V. Long. I am sure that Harry would be pleased to know that his collection realized close to two million dollars.”
The top painting in the sale was a watercolor by Frank W. Benson (1862-1951), Canada Geese, which sold for $80,500.
Nesting Canada Goose
A. Elmer Crowell (1862–1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1910
Sold for $661,250
Preening Pintail
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1910
Sold for $546,250
Frank W. Benson
(1862-1951)
Canada Geese, 1928
watercolor, 19 ¼ by 23 ¾ in.
Sold for $80,500
Aiden Lassell Ripley
(1896-1969)
Grouse in the Orchard
watercolor, 21 1/8 by 45 ½ in.
Sold for $77,625