The Payson Crowell Greater Yellowlegs
A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952)
East Harwich, MA, c. 1920
12 in. long

Anthony Elmer Crowell was born in 1862 in the town of East Harwich, Massachusetts, the son of a Cape Cod mariner and cranberry grower. According to Crowell in his memoirs, Anthony S. Crowell, Elmer’s father, though not a hunter, gave his son his first shotgun at the age of twelve. Of the relevance of receiving the new shotgun Crowell wrote, “Then, I was some boy!” The legend of A.E. Crowell and his famous carvings has many of the common threads of the typical artist’s tale. It is the story of a boy of modest means, born at the right time, and befriended by encouraging patrons.

Crowell started out in his teens as a market hunter and a pioneering keeper of live waterfowl. These passions helped Crowell to develop an intrinsic knowledge of both waterfowl and other birds. His familiarity with bird anatomy enabled Crowell to create carved wood sculptures that bear exceptional likeness to their species.

With this yellowlegs comes the introduction of a previously unknown Crowell hunting companion and patron, Randolph Payson of Hyannis Port, on Cape Cod. This carving, along with the rare preening dowitcher and several miniatures in this sale, have been consigned by a direct descendant of Mr. Payson.

After entering the service as a pilot in World War I, Payson went on to be a prominent figure on the Cape, where he served as a hospital president. As a child, the consignor recalls these carvings on display in the family home which was near the Kennedy’s compound.

Crowell's decorative yellowlegs have long been revered by top collectors and patrons. Indeed, Harry V. Long illustrated a very closely related yellowlegs in his journal with the caption “...he promised me that winter [greater yellowlegs] on the right four years ago -- ‘just a dream.’”

This example exhibits excellent feather blending atop the delicately carved body. The finely crafted legs and feet are resting on a contoured carved "rock" base. The carving's underside bears the maker's signature blue-paper label which reads: "A. E. Crowell & Son Bird Carving East Harwich, Mass."
Original paint with minimal wear.

Provenance: Randolph Payson Collection, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, acquired from maker
Elizabeth Codman Payson Collection, by descent from the above
Private Collection, by descent from the above

Literature: Stephen B. O'Brien Jr. and Chelsie W. Olney, "Elmer Crowell: Father of American Bird Carving," Hingham, MA, 2019, p. 215 related carving illustrated, p. 234, Long's photograph and journal entry illustrated.