Skip to main content
Black Duck
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler 
Photo by John Parnell
Black Duck
Black Duck
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler 
Photo by John Parnell
Black Duck Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler Photo by John Parnell
Record Details

Black Duck

Artist ((1872–1949))
Datec. 1930
Place/RegionStratford, Connecticut
MediumPaint on wood and cork with glass
Dimensions5 7/8 × 16 × 6 3/4"
Credit LineGift of Alastair B. Martin
Accession number1969.1.15
CopyrightCopyright for this work is under review.
Description

Shang Wheeler was a man of diverse interests and talents who served as a Connecticut state senator, managed the Connecticut Oyster Farms in Milford, and was an avid outdoorsman. His decoys drew upon older traditions established by Stratford carvers Albert Davids Laing and Benjamin Holmes, such as hollow two-piece bodies with prominent chests. Wheeler made both working decoys and show birds in wood and cork. Black ducks were among his most beautiful cork decoys, which often had wood heads in the graceful sleeping position.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Black Duck," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 366.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information. 

To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org

Canvasback Hen
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
Photo by Carleton Palmer
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
c. 1930
1969.1.75
Canvasback Drake
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
Photo by John Parnell
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
c. 1930
1969.1.74
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler, (1872–1949), “White-winged Scoter Hen”, Stratford, Connecticut, 192…
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
1925–1935
1969.1.28
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler, (1872–1949), “White-Winged Scooter Drake,” Stanford, Connecticut, c…
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
c. 1930
1969.1.16
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler, (1872–1949), “Black Duck”, Stratford, Connecticut, c. 1930, Paint o…
Charles E. "Shang" Wheeler
c. 1930
1969.1.8
Artist unidentified, “Crucifixion”, Ohio, n.d., Glass, wood, paint on paper, cork stopper, 6 1/…
Artist unidentified
n.d.
1984.30.47
Artist unidentified, “Tapered Cross with Instruments of the Passion”, Found in Massachusetts, n…
Artist unidentified
n.d.
1984.30.54
Harold Thengs, “Black Duck,” Long Island, New York, 1935 - 1943, Paint on crushed cork and wood…
1935–1943
1990.2.1
Thomas H. Gelston, (1851–1924), “Yellowlegs”, Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, New York, n.d., Pain…
Thomas H. Gelston
n.d.
1988.18.7
Artist unidentified, “Sandpiper”, Long Island, New York, n.d., Paint on cork, 6 × 3 1/4 × 1 3/4…
Artist unidentified
n.d.
1988.18.13
Matteo Radoslovich, (1882–1972), “Clown Holding Flower,” West New York, New Jersey, c. 1947–197…
Matteo Radoslovich
c. 1947–1972
1983.17.14
Captain Charles C.  Osgood, (1820–1886), “Red-breasted Merganser Drake”, Salem, Massachusetts, …
Captain Charles C. Osgood
c. 1880
1963.4.1