Daniel English

Dan English is the son of the renowned carver John English. Dan started out adhering to his father’s patterns, but eventually created his own and became a pattern maker. The majority of his output replicates black ducks, but canvasbacks, mallards, pintails, scaup and wigeon are also represented. Most of English’s birds assume low-head or content postures and display scant or no carving on the wings. However, the tails are notched, bills sport mandibles and nostrils, and the heads feature prominent eyebrows. Detailed feather painting and glass eyes further accent the sculpted bodies. Twelve escutcheon pins secure each weight, and the leather for the anchor line is attached with brass screws and washers (Huster 48). “D. ENLISH” is painted on the undersides of some of Dan English’s decoys and serves as unmistakable, though misspelled identification (Huster 48).