HAND CARVED PENGUIN BY CHARLES HART DECOY MAKER

Small hand carved wooden Penguin measuring 7 1/4 inches tall being painted black and white. The family said that it was carved by a man named Charles Hart (1862-1960) of Gloucester, MA. I googled him and found several examples that looked very similar to this piece. Excellent. Charles Hart was a stone contractor and mason, He was also known as a carver of fine duck decoys. Careful wing carving and detailed painting characterize Hart’s work. He specialized in just a few species, including black ducks, Canada geese, goldeneyes and mallards. Hart also had a passion for penguins which he carved in different sizes. The Adélie and Emperor penguins were his primary subjects. In the 1930s, when the country was fascinated by the explorations in Antarctica, Hart was soon selling his birds to stores in Boston.