Harris Wild Duck Decoys

February’s display case features a flock of wildfowl decoys, highlighting the career of Richard and Marion Harris of Old Saybrook. Richard and Marion worked for the Wildfowler company in Old Saybrook – Richard as the head carver, Marion as the head painter. When the factory moved in 1957, the couple continued the work from their own home, producing thousands of working and decorative decoys until 1975. Their youngest son, Robert, continued the family tradition until his death in 2012. The display includes a handsome woodcock, a prize-winning wood duck drake, a dramatic “flying” mallard, a “working” decoy from the Wildfowler era, and a pair of quails – one painted by Marion, one painted by her son.