Peter Peltz | |
---|---|
Born | Philip Peltz 1915 |
Died | March 20, 2001 (86) |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Yale University |
Known for | Painted wood carvings of birds |
Movement | Folk art |
Spouse | Elizabeth (nee Hooper) |
Patron(s) | Jacqueline Kennedy |
Philip "Peter" Peltz (1915 – March 20, 2001) was an American artist, active in Sandwich on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. [1] [2] [3] [4] He was known for his wooden, painted carvings of birds mounted on driftwood. [1] [5] [6]
Peltz was born in Albany, New York in 1915. [3] He attended the Hotchkiss School, and graduated from Yale University in 1938, later returning to Yale to earn a Master of Arts degree in history. [5] [3] During his time at the university, Peltz was a member of the Whiffenpoofs singing group. [3] Peltz served in the US Navy during World War II, in both the Mediterranean and Pacific theaters, rising to the rank of lieutenant. [1] [5] [3] It was during his time in the navy that he carved his first bird. [1] [5] [7]
After leaving the Navy, Peltz married and had two children. [3] In 1952, Peltz and his family moved to East Sandwich. [1] In 1958 Peltz had a barn moved from Falmouth, Massachusetts to East Sandwich, where he began to carve and sell his birds, nicknaming the structure "The Bird Barn." [1] On March 20, 2001, Peltz died in Morrisville, Vermont, at the age of 86. [3]
Peltz's work was notably featured in the Oval Office during John F. Kennedy's presidency; the piece was a carved tern given to the President by his wife Jacqueline Kennedy, [8] who was known to have personally owned at least three of Peltz's pieces. [5] In total, Peltz is believed to have crafted thousands of birds, and his works continue to regularly come up at auction, generally selling between $100-$200. [9] [10] [11] Due to the large number of pieces, the quality of Peltz's work varies from very fine, detailed sculptures which capture the shape and posture of the birds to those with less attention to detail, and "fastness of color." [5] Peltz carved and painted a variety of birds, from waterfowl to birds of prey, with most of his subjects being species present in New England. [1] [2] Peltz's sculptures of smaller birds such as songbirds were generally life-sized, while his carvings of larger birds were scaled down. [5] [12]
Harwich is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 13,440. Harwich experiences a seasonal increase to roughly 37,000. The town is a popular vacation spot, located near the Cape Cod National Seashore. Harwich's beaches are on the Nantucket Sound side of Cape Cod. Harwich has three active harbors. Saquatucket, Wychmere and Allen Harbors are all in Harwich Port. The town of Harwich includes the villages of Pleasant Lake, West Harwich, East Harwich, Harwich Port, Harwich Center, North Harwich and South Harwich.
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The name Cape Cod, coined in 1602 by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.
East Sandwich is a village and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Sandwich in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2010 census.
Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States and is the oldest town on Cape Cod. The town motto is Post tot Naufracia Portus, "after so many shipwrecks, a haven". The population was 20,259 at the 2020 census.
Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape". It contains a majority of the Barnstable Town offices and two important shopping districts: the historic downtown Main Street and the Route 132 Commercial District, including Cape Cod Mall and Independence Park, headquarters of Cape Cod Potato Chips. Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis is the largest on Cape Cod.
Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring 604 square miles (1,560 km2) below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west. To the north of Cape Cod Bay lie Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Cape Cod Bay is the southernmost extremity of the Gulf of Maine. Cape Cod Bay is one of the bays adjacent to Massachusetts that give it the name Bay State. The others are Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Massachusetts Bay.
Popponesset Spit is a spit between Popponesset Bay and Nantucket Sound. The barrier peninsula extends for about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) from the community of Popponesset in Mashpee on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and is part of the coastline known as Popponesset Beach. The tip of the peninsula is owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society while the landward end is owned by Save Popponesset Bay.
The Highland Light is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.
Anthony Elmer Crowell, also known as A. Elmer Crowell was a master decoy carver from East Harwich, Massachusetts. Crowell specialized in shorebirds, waterfowl, and miniatures. Crowell's decoys are consistently regarded as some of the finest and most desirable decoys ever made. Also created a fair amount of flat art in oils and watercolors. Acted as a hunting guide and caretaker of waterfowl gunning stands in Massachusetts.
Bob Spear was an American naturalist, birdwatcher and master woodcarver who was the founding director of the Birds of Vermont Museum (BOVM), he was influential in the birding and environmental communities, having co-founded Vermont's first chapter of the National Audubon Society and having created more than 470 biologically accurate bird carvings on display at the BOVM. He was also the author of the book, The Birds of Vermont, published in 1969 by the Green Mountain Audubon Society. He resided in Huntington, Vermont United States.
A duck decoy is a man-made object resembling a real duck. Duck decoys are sometimes used in waterfowl hunting to attract real ducks.
The Dorset House is an exhibit building at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, United States; it houses the museum's collection of 900 wildfowl decoys.
Barnstable is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have been granted city forms of government by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but wish to retain "the town of" in their official names. At the 2020 census it had a population of 48,916. The town contains several villages within its boundaries. Its largest village, Hyannis, is the central business district of the county and home to Barnstable Municipal Airport, the airline hub of Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Additionally, Barnstable is a 2007 winner of the All-America City Award.
Oscar W. "Pelee" Peterson was an American carver of fish decoys.
Oscar "Pelee" Peterson is among the best known and most widely imitated fish carvers.
John Hay was an American author, naturalist, and conservation activist. Hay co-founded the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster, Massachusetts and served as its president from 1955 to 1980. He composed 18 books from his "writing shack" on Dry Hill at his home in Brewster, Massachusetts, including two autobiographies, A beginner's faith in things unseen (1995) and Mind the Gap: The Education of a Nature Writer. (2004).
Vernon B. Smith (1894-1969), was an American regional artist, often associated with Cape Cod. He was a Federal Art Project regional administrator and as an artist he was best known for his bas-relief woodcarvings. His works also include oil paintings, watercolors, batik designs, and constructions in aluminum.
The Carousel of Light was created by Lance Shinkle, an artist from Falmouth, Massachusetts. It features hand carved horses carved from reclaimed Eastern White Pine. Shinkle began the process of carving the horses in 1988. It took some five years to complete enough horses to set up the carousel. Along with the horses, he carved two wheel-chair accessible chariots and a mermaid sculpture which blows bubbles- thus she has the name, Bubbles. In 1993, Lance purchased a 1947 Allan Herschell carousel to hold the horses. The panels on the mechanism were painted to reflect scenes of Falmouth and Cape Cod. The carousel debuted in July 1993 at the Barnstable County Fair. The next season, Shinkle set up the carousel in Mashpee Commons and operated it there for two years. Later, it stood on the Main Street of Hyannis, Massachusetts. for a summer. The carousel also operated in Grand Central Station for Christmas season.
The John F. Kennedy Memorial is located on Ocean Street in Hyannis, Massachusetts. It overlooks Lewis Bay, where President Kennedy often sailed while in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The memorial is a large stone wall with a bronze medallion on each side. President Kennedy's left bust profile is on the front medallion, facing the bay. The Great Seal of the United States is on the back, facing Ocean Street. The memorial’s landscaping includes plantings, lawn, a large concrete terrace, bluestone benches, and a reflecting pool and lit fountain that invokes the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery. The reflecting pool is surrounded by bluestone engraved with the quote, “I believe it is important that this country sail and not lie still in the harbor.” It comes from President Kennedy's Radio and Television Report to the American People on the State of the National Economy given August 13, 1962.
Ira Hudson was an American boat builder and prolific decoy and shorebird carver from Chincoteague, Virginia. He created over 20,000 decoys during his lifetime, full sized and miniatures.
Scott A. Friedholm is an American college baseball coach and former catcher. Friedholm is the head coach of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs baseball team.
One of my favorite Route 6A craftsmen is Peter Peltz, of East Sandwich. He carves birds and mounts them on driftwood. For models he has only to look out the windows of his small grayshingled shop. Hawks, gulls, and redwinged blackbirds haunt the marsh on one side of the road, birds of the pines and sc rub oaks, the other.