Extraordinary Spread-Winged Eagle
Attributed to Joseph Romuald Bernier (1873-1952), Biddeford, Maine
c. 1930-1940
Carved and painted pine, glass eyes
H 21 1/2", W 61", D 27 1/2"
An ambitiously carved and perhaps the largest eagle produced by Bernier in the original painted finish.
We could speculate that this immense eagle perched on a book was made for a library originally. A nearly identical eagle of a slightly smaller scale can be found in The Flowering of American Folk Art, p. 182, fig. 241, collection of Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Massachusetts.