Artfixdaily Blog Network

  I recently came across this rather amusing photograph of me while cleaning out a drawer of old photographs. I find it comical that at the age of three I possessed the strength to lift what appears to be a sixteen pound gander.  Upon seeing this photo, the first question that came to my mind was "Could I have ever ended up in a non-waterfowl related field?" With an avid hunter as a father and the past Chairman of National Audubon Society as my uncle and Godfather, the sporting field was a profession I couldn't refuse. Little has changed in the last forty years, I still love ...

The last year at Copley has brought some tremendous auction results. Coming off of last summer's Sporting Sale, "Paintings were the high scorers," as noted by Boston Globe correspondent Virginia Bohlin, with exceptional results and world records set for wildlife and sporting works. Copley's inaugural Winter Sale in New York this January was what Decoy Magazine's Joe Engers "enthusiastically call[ed] a 'win-win' sale" for decoys, providing a "needed jolt of optimism" in the decoy market. Our results showed there is a very active market for the best quality items, with many new buyers ...

I am happy to announce my cable TV debut this weekend! In February, I travelled to Texas to recreate my gallery for the filming of a TV show called ‘Accidental Fortune.’ We shipped out five boxes of decoys and artwork from Boston and I spent three days on location in San Antonio. The episode of Accidental Fortune will air at 8 PM and 11 PM on Sunday, April 18th on TLC. Tune in to watch the thrilling tale of discovery that surrounds several A.E. Crowell decoys!

I am pleased to announce a new exhibition of paintings by renowned sporting artist Chet Reneson that will run from October 15 – December 15, 2009. The exhibition features a variety of subjects near and dear to Reneson, including five sporting scenes and four Bahamian paintings. I am particularly thrilled to present a snowy-blowy duck hunting scene that perfectly captures the bluster of a winter hunt, as well as a grouse shooting work and an intense image of two Bahamian fishermen hauling a great white shark into their boat.               Reneson’s impeccable sporting art credentials attest ...

Through October 15, my gallery Stephen O’Brien Jr. Fine Arts will feature a solo exhibition of six major works by the artist, writer, and sportsman Galen Mercer.  The grandson of two painters and the son of another, Mercer excelled in formal technique at Thornton Hall Academy, a school specializing in the fine arts.  This exhibition demonstrates his impressive ability to apply that classic tradition to a bold, expressive palette.                 Any nature lover like myself will appreciate Mercer’s works.  His landscape and sporting scenes reveal both the harmony and vitality of nature.  In ...

On July 15 and 16, Copley Fine Art Auctions held its annual sporting sale in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The 2009 auction shot over its $3.5 million low estimate settling in at $4.16 million, making it the most successful in the company’s history. In this landmark sale, 23 of the 25 highest estimated lots sold. Commenting on the auction, Copley Chairman Stephen B. O’Brien Jr. said, “To be up thirty percent from last year’s totals in this economy is a testament to the hard work of our entire staff, and the trust that our clients place in us. We make every effort to deliver a pleasurable ...

Copley Fine Art Auctions' 660-lot Sporting Sale, including important Elmer Crowell carved birds from the Harry V. Long Collection as well as a fine selection of decoys, sporting art, folk art, and American paintings, will hit the auction block July 15-16, at the Radisson Hotel, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. New England Cable News (NECN) reported on June 30: "A big auction is coming up this month in Plymouth, for duck decoys, among other items! Some of the most prized decoys are from a Massachusetts man's collection that were carved in the early 1900's and have never before been put on the ...