Property from a Private Collection, Atlanta, GA Frank Stick (NJ, NC, ND, 1884-1966), Duck Hunting, Oil on Canvas, signed lower left, depicting figures in a boat with two ducks in the foreground. Frame size 40 1/4 in. height x 28 1/2 in. width. Frank Leonard Stick is best known for his outdoor-themed paintings, especially those relating to hunting and fishing. He was born February 10, 1884 in Huron, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota). Stick spent his boyhood in Sioux City, Iowa, hunting, fishing, trapping, and trying his hand at a variety of part-time jobs. In 1901, he moved to Wisconsin where he trapped during the winter and served as a hunting and fishing guide in the summer and fall. These experiences allowed Stick to visit most of the upper Great Plains and Rockies, as far west as Montana. He realized he could better document his observations of wildlife and wilderness in paintings rather than words, and so he decided to seek professional art instruction. Stick enrolled in the Chicago Art Institute in 1904 and sold his first painting to "Sports Afield" magazine after four months of instruction. His teachers recognized his talent and advised him to pursue a career as an artist. His work appeared in "Sports Afield", "Field and Stream", "Collier's", "The Saturday Evening Post", and other magazines. He later moved to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and primarily painted for his own enjoyment, with the exception of a series of watercolors for "Sports Afield" in 1950. Stick died in November 12, 1966, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. (Askart.com/Mike Mordell)