Dewey Pertuit

Decoys carved by Dewey Pertuit present a problem with identification, because there have been at least three Pertuit families in the surrounding area that carved decoys. Though his decoys may not be as refined as some, Pertuit’s birds are considered some of Louisiana’s finest. Out of the thousands of canvasbacks, coots, doves, mallards, pintails, ring-necks and teal Pertuit carved, many remain in working rigs. Pertuit was somewhat of a pioneer carver in that he was one of the first to employ patterns and a band saw to design his lures. These patterns varied little, but Pertuit did experiment with different paint patterns.