American Wigeon 1984 Wooden Decoy Signed GLORIA GORZALSKI

This expertly carved and spectacularly painted wigeon decoy is an early work by Gloria Gorzalski, an award-winning carver from Wisconsin. This is a breeding male American wigeon (also spelled widgeon) distinguished by the swoosh of green feathers acing back from the eyes and the cream colored feathers that cover the crown of the head down to the bill. This cap is what gives the wigeon its other common name: the baldpate.

Gloria Gorzalski was a runner-up for her category in the 1981 Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art World Championship. She also won several firsts and seconds in the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association (WWA) Decoy Carving Contests in 2018 and 2019. This decorative decoy of hers is a real standout. In addition to the masterly feather work on the head, back and sides, the tail feathers are carved paper thin; the large, inset brown eyes are circled with the tiniest of dots. The duck's bill has the tiny twin nasal openings called nares and a carved nail (the bump at the tip.) The upper mandible (top part of the bill) is pale blue, the lower mandible black. 

This decoy is 14 inches long---an actual wigeon is 17 to 23 inches---and 5 1/2 inches across the breast. To the top of its head is about 6 1/4 inches and it weighs 1 pound 10 ounces. Made of solid white pine, it's signed on the bottom, burned into the wood: "American Widgeon" 4/2/84  ©   #1  "TK"  Gloria Gonzalski. In excellent condition, this striking duck decoy will be a treasured heirloom and a great addition to a decoy collection.

FF 5333