Harvesting the River: Archives: : Coot Decoy -- Illinois State Museum


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Coot Decoy, no date.
Made by Otto Garren, Canton, Illinois.
White pine, 10 inches long.
Illinois State Museum Collection (1958.77, 798934)
Gift of Joseph French, St. Louis, Missouri.

Otto Garren (1890-1968) began carving at age sixteen and made almost 5,000 decoys and miniatures in sixty years. His construction method was to join two hollowed out decoy sections with finishing nails. He always used high quality glass eyes. This coot features orange glass eyes and a subtle dark olive breast and underbelly and blackish-olive back.

Garren hunted over his own decoys in the Liverpool area. He was one of the most successful Illinois commercial carvers, and one of the few who carved wood ducks in quantity.

Photograph by Gary Andrashko, Illinois State Museum.

<b>Coot Decoy</b>, no date. <br>Made by Otto Garren, Canton, Illinois. <br>White pine, 10 inches long.<br>Illinois State Museum Collection (1958.77, 798934)<br>Gift of Joseph French, St. Louis, Missouri.<p>Otto Garren (1890-1968) began carving at age sixteen and made almost 5,000 decoys and miniatures in sixty years. His construction method was to join two hollowed out decoy sections with finishing nails. He always used high quality glass eyes. This coot features orange glass eyes and a subtle dark olive breast and underbelly and blackish-olive back.</p><p>Garren hunted over his own decoys in the Liverpool area. He was one of the most successful Illinois commercial carvers, and one of the few who carved wood ducks in quantity.