The Lonesome Hen and the Lost Decoy-A Post Season Flirtation

Artist / Maker Jay Norwood Darling (American, 1876 - 1962)

Date1943

MediumPhotoetching and aquatint on paper

Dimensions11 5/8 x 9 13/16 in. (29.5 x 24.9 cm)

ClassificationsPrints and Printing Plates

Credit LineGift of the J. N. "Ding" Darling Foundation. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM82.162

Status

Not on view

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Label TextDarling's musings on the love life of ducks found a second expression in this comic edching of a mallard circling in on a decoy frozen in all winter. He uses the same stop-out and aquatint technique he'd used in the "Pintail" prints to suggest wet, heavy, late winter snow. This print is full of light, and he is able to suggest a great clarity of air by drawing the distant trees and houses with fine detail. The print is the same size as the "Pintail" prints and can be considered a companion peice. Two preliminary drawings for this etching are known. Both are graphite studies of a mallard breaking in flight to look at a decoy. In one drawing the mallard comes from the left. In the second, more finish drawing, the mallard comes from the right, and the pier is indicated. Both drawings are horizontal and were not the source for the photoengraving. Some impressions are wiped selectively, with darker plate tone remaining in the sky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Animals adapt and change to their surroundings or environment. Before flying south to safe haven, the lone hen is seeking a mate in late autumn. This duck has a natural adversary in the winter weather, and the human-made decoy is invading the lake and jeopardizing her survival. In this instance humans are manipulating the environment and affecting the surroundings of other species.

SignedJ.N. Darling '43 in pencil, lower right

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