Updated December 10: This has been sold. This carved wooden eagle came from a collection assembled over a period of 30 years. I acquired a few from the collection and this is the last one available. There aren't many that are this large, and it's in excellent condition, as you can see from the photos. The carving is in the style of John Haley Bellamy, the famous New England wood carver whose eagles are well-known. You'll find a short bio of Bellamy below. We're including the book, The Bold Art & Brash Life of John Haley Bellamy by James A. Craig, which explores Bellamy's artistic career, personal life, and his significant contributions to American folk art. It is the book on Bellamy from the expert on Bellamy. — Lee Wright | Founder Size: 16" x 44" Shipping: $75. Please allow two weeks for shipping. About the carver who set the style for this and many other carved eagles "John Haley Bellamy (April 5, 1836 – April 6, 1914) was a New England folk artist known for his highly stylized carved wooden eagles and other decorative items for ships and homes. Bellamy was born in Kittery, Maine in 1836, and stayed there for much of his career. Later in his life he lived and worked elsewhere in New England. Although carving was his primary means of supporting himself, he never considered himself to be an "artist," and he is not known to have signed any of his pieces. His eagles are highly desired in the collectors' market, with some selling in 2007 for over $100,000, and a large piece setting an artist-record price of $660,000 at an August 2005 auction. Bellamy died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1914."Bellamy was apprenticed to Samuel Dockham, a furniture maker in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in his youth. In 1857, at the age of 21, Bellamy worked with the well known ship's carver Laban Beecher in Boston. . . ."Not much is known about Bellamy's career after his term at New Hampton Institute until the mid-1860s, when it was clear that he was carving for money in Boston. In the late 1860s, he entered into a partnership with D.A. Titcomb, a patent agent in Boston who managed to help sell and ship a large number of Bellamy's carvings throughout the country. Between the years of 1867–1871, six styles of clock cases were patented by Bellamy. . . . "In 1872, Bellamy spent a short period as a first class carpenter, which he quickly quit when he realized it paid less than carving did. That winter Bellamy set up shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and began carving again. Many of the carvings he made there were eagles and many have since been lost. Bellamy was commissioned in 1880 to build a figurehead for USS Lancaster, which previously had not had a figurehead. For this he was paid two dollars and thirty-two cents a day. This piece, referred to as the USS Lancaster Eagle, is the only known surviving figurehead carved by Bellamy and is considered to be his masterpiece. It is currently owned by and displayed at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia." Source: Wikipedia Read more about his works in this article from Incollect.com
