Description: Life size pair; adults on burned driftwood attached to oblong carved wooden base, left bird higher, standing, wings up, beak agape, right bird standing, wings closed, beak closed; both birds with glass eyes, metal feet. Signed "Gilley" on left of base. Marked "Common Tern, Addie Gilley, 1976" on underside of base.
Description: Life size; male and female on oblong, sand covered wooden base with two attached driftwood pieces, male standing on burned driftwood, head turned over left shoulder, facing front of composition, female on lower right, attached to oblong base, head to ground, tail up; both have glass eyes, metal legs, carved, burned and painted detail. Unsigned. Marked "Property of Addie Gilley, Ruddy Turnstone, 1975" on underside of base.
Description: Miniature; head and body one piece, wire legs set into round, black base, feet painted, semi-detailed. Marked on underside of base: "Mallard, W.H. Gilley, First Bird, Made 1930, Addie Gilley." First bird carving by Wendell H. Gilley.
Description: Life size; adult male and female , male perched on carved ax set in stump, female perched on stump; glass eyes, metal feet, realistic carved and painted detail. Signed "Gilley '72" on top back of ax handle.
Description: One of sixty-one carvings exhibited in a major museum retrospective "Downeast Bird Carvings by Wendell Gilley" at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia in 1976/77. Adult male northern flicker in a feeding position on driftwood mount ; glass eyes, cast lead feet with curved talons "gripping" the curves of the driftwood ; signed "Gilley" in black ink on lower left of the upper surface of the mount ; additionally signed on the flat underside of the base in three separate areas: "Yellow-shafted Flicker" and "By W.H. Gilley 1969" and "Made especially for Dr. & Mrs. J.L. Hollander." [show more]
Description: Approx. 1/3 life size; perched on driftwood base, stands erect, tail horizontal; glass eyes, painted detail, wire legs and feet. Smeared signature on right side of base, "Gilley." Marked and dated "Ring-necked Pheasant by W. Gilley, 1973, Addie" on underside of base.
Description: Life size adult, gray phase, alighting on driftwood perch attached to oblong, carved wooden base, wings outstretched; glass eyes, metal toenails, carved, burned and painted detail. Signed and marked "Screech Owl made for Addie Gilley, 1978, by Wendell Gilley" on underside of base.
Description: Life size adult male on driftwood piece mounted on oblong carved wooden base ; head turned over left shoulder, glass eyes, metal feet, carved, burned and painted detail, signed, dated on base "Gilley '77." Underside of base marked "Sparrow Hawk or Kestrel, Made for Addie Gilley, Wendell Gilley, 1977." Yellow paint on glass eyes, two screw heads visible on underside of base.
Description: Blue jay with real acorn in its beak perched on driftwood branch on oval base ; wire and metal legs and feet ; glass eyes ; signed "Gilley" on front of base ; no date
Description: Adult male goldfinch in summer plumage sitting on real branch ; "Gilley" signature on front topside of base almost completely faded ; additionally underside bears jackknife rubber stamp Gilley mark ; underside of base marked "Wedding gift to Joe + Anne Bragdon from Wendell H. Gilley + Addie" ; dated Oct, 4, 1981.
Description: 1/4 life size; perched on driftwood mounted on carved wooden base, toes inaccurate: three front one rear instead of two and two; glass eyes, painted wired feet, painted detail. Signed lower right of natural wood: "Gilley." Underside of base marked: "Addie Gilley, Pileated Woodpecker, 1970, W.H. Gilley."
Description: Common loon adult standing over nest with attached egg and unattached chick, head bent down, beak touching unhatched egg on oblong wooden base covered with sand and nesting material; adult loon has glass eyes, carved and painted detail, metal feet; egg painted; chick one-piece, beak open, flat bottom, pinhead eyes, painted detail. Marked, dated and signed "Made for Addie Gilley, 1964, Common Loon by Wendell Gilley" on underside of base.
Description: Wendell Gilley is a name well known among carvers and carving collectors. Author of The Art of Bird Carving: A Guide to a Fascinating Hobby, one of the earliest instructional books on the subject, Gilley was a pioneer in the field of decorative bird carving. By his estimate, he created “ten thousand birds of pine and paint” between 1931 and 1983. (Gilley also loved alliteration; it should be noted that most of his carvings were made of basswood.) [show more]
Description: Addie Gilley’s created an outstanding collection of her husband’s work. The carvings that Addie so wisely saved over the years became the core of the Museum’s permanent collection. Wendell and Addie were the guests of honor at the opening of the Gilley Museum on July 12, 1981. They remained active in the museum until their deaths a few months apart in 1983.
Description: Photograph of an interior showing gull carvings, including a mobile, by Wendell Gilley. Stamped "Anchor Light Studio, W.H. Ballard, Southwest Harbor, Maine" on back.
Description: Photograph of a herring gull carved by Wendell Gilley. The gull is perched on a buoy with the number 7 painted on it. Behind the gull is a painted scene of water and rocks. Stamped "W.H. Ballard, Photographer, S. W. Harbor, Me" on back.
Description: Photograph of five birds carved by Wendell Gilley. Clockwise from left: black duck, Canada goose, canvasback, harlequin duck, and common eider. Stamped "W.H. Ballard, Photographer, S. W. Harbor, Me" on back. Numbered "#28" in pencil above stamp.