Inside Decoys from Shelburne Museum

Stephen Verity (1865-1950)

Stephen Verity, of Seaford, New York, was born to a family with strong connections to decoy making, gun boat and skiff building, and guiding (Baldwin 2000, 210). His father, Obadiah Verity, is known for the shore birds he carved, three of which are found in the Long Island Museum collection. 
 
According to former Shelburne Museum curator Bob Shaw, Stephen Verity was, at one time, a superintendent on the Bayberry Point, Islip, New York estate of H.O. Havemeyer, the father of Shelburne Museum's founder, Electra Havemeyer Webb. 
 
 
The cork black duck by Stephen Verity in Shelburne Museum's collection bears the mark of H. O. Havemeyer's brother, Theodore. Three other decoys in Shelburne Museum's collection are attributed to this maker.

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  1. According to a blog post by Jamie Reason, conflicting information abounds with regard to the Verity family history and attribution of decoys to Obadiah Verity. In his paper, Verity family genealogist Richard Baldwin indicates the life dates for Stephen Verity as 1865-1950 and those of his father, Obadiah, as 1813-1901. In contrast, the Ward Museum's Artist Archive gives Obadiah Verity's life dates as 1850-1910 and makes no mention of Stephen in their listing of other Verity family decoy makers.

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