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Fish Decoys Aren't Fooling Collectors o Del.icio.us

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By ANN BARRY

Published: August 13, 1989

The New York Times

LEAD: As a collectible, the fish decoy has surfaced. It had been a popular item for several years, especially since the publication in 1986 of ''The Fish Decoy'' by Art, Brad and Scott Kimball (Aardvark). Then, on July 9 at the Oliver auction house in Kennebunk, Me., a rare New York piece by an anonymous carver set a world auction record for a fish decoy of $6,600.

As a collectible, the fish decoy has surfaced. It had been a popular item for several years, especially since the publication in 1986 of ''The Fish Decoy'' by Art, Brad and Scott Kimball (Aardvark). Then, on July 9 at the Oliver auction house in Kennebunk, Me., a rare New York piece by an anonymous carver set a world auction record for a fish decoy of $6,600.

The status of the fish decoy will be elevated further by an exhibition, ''Beneath the Ice: The Art of the Fish Decoy,'' scheduled to open at the Museum of American Folk Art next February. At the same time, Dutton will publish a book written in conjunction with the show by Ben Apfelbaum, the guest curator.

The fish decoy is distinct from the fish lure in that it is not attached to a hook but is weighted and dropped into an ice hole to attract fish within range. It has been used for spearing fish in the frozen freshwaters of the far north since prehistoric times. Subsequently, its use spread from Alaska throughout Canada, then into the Midwest and the Northeast and up into New England. The most common decoys that are collected date from the 1920's through the 50's and come from the Great Lakes region of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The heyday for non-Indian carvers was during the Depression, when fishing became as much a necessity as a sport and decoys became a commercial product.

Yet Mr. Apfelbaum views the fish decoy, quite naturally, as more than a sportsman's aid. ''They are the earliest American folk-art form,'' he said recently, ''extraordinary examples of American folk sculpture.''

One of the most artistic carvers, according to Mr. Apfelbaum, was Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), a hunter and trapper from Cadillac, Mich., who made thousands of decoys, ranging in length from 6 to 14 inches. His works are characterized by a streamlined shape and a sophisticated style of layered painting that has an enameled look. ''I suspect he actually used egg tempera to achieve that effect,'' Mr. Apfelbaum said.

''But my favorite is Hans Janner Sr.,'' he added. ''His fish have a full-bodied dimensionality, a highly realistic quality. They're famous for their wonderful heavy metal fins.''

Janner worked as a blacksmith in Mount Clemens, Mich.; he also worked for a time for a company that manufactured fire-fighting equipment, where he picked up scraps of materials. His finest decoys were made in the 1920's. Because he made his decoys mainly for family and friends, they are rarities on the marketplace today.

Pecore Fox, a friend and admirer of Janner, is also considered among the top carvers. His decoys,'' said Mr. Apfelbaum, ''are in the Janner line, that is to say, realistic and full-bodied.''

Another outstanding carver, according to Mr. Apfelbaum, was Theodore vandenBosche from St. Clair, Mich. ''His fish are nice and round, with good details. The metal work is especially beautiful, even though he just used found metal, such as tobacco tins.''

The museum's large-scale exhibition will give the fish decoy an official imprimatur. Aarne Anton, owner of the American Primitive Gallery, 596 Broadway at Prince Street, predicts, ''Now, you can still make a little collection of fish decoys for what you'd pay for a single weathervane. But it won't always be that way.''

According to Mr. Anton, there are two general categories of carvers: those who attempted a realistic re- creation of a particular fish, and those who worked from their imagination rather than copying nature, on the theory that fish have a natural curiosity.

Oscar Peterson is the most highly regarded of the first school, to the extent that some collectors concentrate solely on his decoys. Mr. Anton has a single Peterson perch decoy priced at $1,500.

His selection of works by members of the second school is more extensive. ''They are often flamboyant and funky,'' he said. ''The characteristics of the fish become abstracted, the colors exaggerated.'' His ''personal favorite carver'' is the late LeRoy Howell of Hinkley, Minn., a house painter who started carving fish for his own use in the 1920's and for commercial purposes from 1929 until the early 50's, when it was no longer economical to compete with plastic models. A Howell decoy has a distinctive aerodynamic shape, often with a colorful florallike pattern. Mr. Anton has one Howell decoy, admittedly ''not the best example,'' in a solid burnished gold coloring, for $275.

Many of the more imaginative decoys are by anonymous craftsmen. At the American Primitive Gallery, they range from a fetching 6-inch red decoy, painted like a tropical fish with yellow spots and with glass-bead eyes, priced at $200, to an imposing 17-inch decoy painted a cheery yellow and studded with red thumb tacks, at $750.

Grove Decoys, 49 Grove Street, also carries a wide array of fish decoys, most of which are identifiable by carver. Prices range from $100 to $300, with a few in the $3,000 bracket. ''It's just like art,'' says William Bender, the owner. ''You ask who is the carver, how typical is it of his work, what is the condition and how rare is the piece.''

The next auction at the Oliver of antique fishing tackle and related items, which will include fish decoys, will take place on Feb. 23 at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough, Mass., about 15 miles east of Worcester.