Carved and painted spread winged painted eagle with banner by John Haley Bellamy, Kittery Point, Maine, circa 1880 . Bellamy carved plaque eagles in a few different patterns. This carving would fit the category of eagle with spread wings and banner draping from the beak. Another more common category of Bellamy’s carvings shows a banner on a flag pole above the eagle's head. At the center of this carving is the eagle's head and neck which is carved from a single piece of wood and painted a creamy white. The head has a typical Bellamy raised brow over the articulated eye with the eagle’s beak open showing the curved tongue. The eye, mouth and tongue are painted red. The top of the beak is defined by a curved line or groove in the head. Near the top of the beak is a small groove with a red painted highly light which is also typically found in Bellamy’s plaque eagles. The back of the head and neck have articulated feathers. The wings and raised shield are carved from a single piece of clear pine. Below the head and sweeping to the right is raised carved American shield which retains the original red, white and blue paint. The shield has three carved and white painted five-pointed stars in diminishing sizes carved along the top of the shield. The wings sweep to the right and left and have clearly articulated feathers. There is a long banner that is made of two applied pieces of painted pine, that sweeps right and left from the eagle’s beak. The banner has a “V” shaped cut out at each end. The banner at the mouth end is painted blue and has two carved five-pointed stars on each side of the mouth. The perimeter edges of the eagle’s banner have red pinstripe decoration with a blue stripe adjacent to the red stripe on the right end of the banner. The back of the eagle shows the original screw and wood pegs that hold the head section to the wings and the screw that holds the ends of the banner to the wings. The eagle retains its original “eye hook” hanging hardware.
Condition: The eagle is in original untouched condition. There has been no repairs or restoration to the surface. There is some typical fading of the red paint pinstriping and a tiny loss to the tips of the banner on the right. There is an area of paint loss to the left side of the banner.
Reference: American Eagle: “The Bold Art & Brash Life of JOHN HALEY BELLAMY” by James A. Craig. Published by The Portsmouth Marine Society. Publication Number 34, 2014. This book illustrates many of Bellamy’s finest works including his plaque eagles which were his most popular form. Page 88 illustrates the largest examples of Bellamy's works. One measures 99 inches in width. Another large example is a pair of eagles that measure 42 ½ inches in width compared to the 57 ¼ inch width of the eagle described here. Based on this publication this white painted spread winged eagle by John Haley Bellamy is the second widest example known.
Provenance: Fred Giampietro New Haven, Connecticut.
Dimensions: Height 10, Width 57 ¼ inches.