Folk Art

Carved Chaffinch Bird by Anthony Rudsill
  • Anthony J. Rudsill started his art career painting wildlife art, mostly birds. By 1949, he was an old hat at painting. In the 1970s he moved from painted birds to carved wood. He won many awards for his bird carvings which are still on display at Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, Maryland. In 2009 he decided that his life’s work would be capturing the spectacular landscapes of national parks.

    The Chaffinch was a popular caged song bird in the 19th century. The powerful song is well known, and it is possible that the fink or vink sounding call gives the finch family its English name. Males typically sing two or three different song types, and there are also regional dialects. The name, Chaffinch, comes from the Old English ceaffinc, where ceaf is "chaff" and finc "finch". Chaffinches were likely given this name because after farmers thresh their crops, these birds sometimes spend weeks picking through heaps of discarded chaff for grain.

    This carved Chaffinch appears to be singing. He sits on a carved wood base. The underside of the base has a brass plaque saying “THE CHAFFINCH by Anthony J. Rudsill © 1982 FG”. There is a tiny chip on his beak.

    #6612    $285