Keith Mueller - Miniature Blue-footed Booby on...
Updated September 3, 2026
| Lot number | 201 |
| Estimate | 2,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD |
| Auction | Fall Feature Decoy & Sporting Art Auction 2026 |
| Date | September 26, 2026 at 10:52 PM EDT |
| Auction house | American Sporting Auctions |
| Location | Syracuse, New York |
Sea Turtle. Keith Mueller (b. 1956) Killingworth, CT base 8.25" long | bird 6.25" long Mueller is a self-taught carver and painter who began carving professionally in the mid-1970s. Originally trained as an engineer and draftsman, Mueller developed his carving through extensive study of birds and their environments, including field research and photography on scientific expeditions. He has been named World Champion seven times, won more than 250 Best in Show awards, and has been honored as a Living Legend by the Ward Foundation. Mueller is particularly recognized for his decorative bird carvings, often incorporating elaborate feather carving, habitat, and sculptural presentation. His decorative work has included life-size and miniature birds as well as elaborate multi-bird compositions, with examples exhibited at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, and the Governors Mansions of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Swimming green sea turtle with front flippers that flow and softly fade into the swimming ripples across the natural-finish surface of the water. The body features incised scaling across the flippers and head, with a carved mouth and squinted eyes. The shell is smooth, with incised lines delineating the individual shell plates. The booby has deeply relief-carved wings that rise and cross over the end of the tail feathers. Its head is slightly turned, with carved beak details and small glass eyes. Two vibrant blue carved feet, for which the bird is named, stand casually atop the sea turtle's back. The underside of the aqua base bears the maker's hot brand.Condition: Excellent and original
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