Shooting Ducks from a Battery by Arthur Burdett Frost (A. B. Frost)

Shooting Ducks from a Battery by Arthur Burdett Frost (A. B. Frost)

C. 1972

Photomechanical Color Reproduction

This detailed sporting scene, titled Shooting Ducks from a Battery, is a vintage color print published by the Winchester Press in 1972. Based on the masterwork by legendary American illustrator Arthur Burdett Frost (A. B. Frost), the artwork depicts a hunter submerged in a low-profile battery blind on open waters, raising his shotgun toward an approaching flock of waterfowl. The hunter is surrounded by an extensive spread of floating duck decoys bobbing on gentle wave crests under a vast, overcast sky. This specific 1972 edition showcases a meticulous photomechanical color rendering that carefully duplicates the subtle tones of the original 19th-century color stones, all while neatly preserving its title typography along the bottom margin.

The composition stems from Frost's legendary Shooting Pictures portfolio, originally commissioned and published in 1895 by Charles Scribner's Sons. A. B. Frost (1851–1928) is widely considered the quintessential artist of American sporting life, renowned for combining rigorous anatomical precision with an authentic, non-romanticized view of rural hunting culture. This particular scene is historically important because it documents the traditional, specialized practice of "battery" or sinkbox hunting on vast coastal bays before the method was heavily restricted or banned for conservation purposes. Released as part of an elite, limited-edition commemorative run of 750 copies by Winchester Press, this plate serves as a vital cultural artifact of late Victorian outdoor sporting heritage and early American realism.

Dimensions: H 11” x 17” W

Condition: In very good condition