The Maryland brothers who carved duck decoys so good, they made it into National Geographic

The Ward Brothers’ Barber Shop to Art Fame

Two barber brothers from Crisfield, Maryland changed American art with duck decoys.

Steve and Lem Ward cut hair by day but carved birds between customers starting in 1920.
After their dad drowned, they made decoys to earn extra cash.

Soon they crafted a unique style with flat bottoms and lifelike details. The Great Depression helped their business boom as folks hunted to put food on the table.

When plastic decoys took over in the 1950s, they switched to pure art, even adding real feathers to wood. The small-town barbers even ended up in National Geographic.

Their legacy lives on in Crisfield, where you can still see their original workshop with the barber chair where it all began.

Barber Brothers Learned Bird Carving From Dad

Travis Ward Sr. taught his sons Steve and Lem both haircuts and duck carving in early 1900s Crisfield, Maryland.

He showed them the local style with flat bottoms, big heads, and bold features that made Crisfield decoys stand out. The boys spent hours watching ducks in Chesapeake marshes, learning bird shapes and movements.

They quit school after grade school, but got their real education working with wood and watching nature.

Tragedy Pushed Them Into Carving Business

Travis Ward Sr. drowned in a boat accident in 1918, leaving his family short on money.

Steve (23) and Lem (22) started making decoys between haircuts at their barbershop for extra cash. They sold their first decoys for about $1 each.

The brothers worked together in their small shop, taking turns cutting hair and carving cedar into bird shapes.

What began as a way to pay bills grew into a passion as they got better.

The Brothers Split Carving Duties

Steve and Lem divided their decoy work based on what each did best by the early 1920s. Steve did the carving while Lem handled the painting.

They made decoys with flat bottoms that sat steady in rough Chesapeake waters. Their upturned heads and bills showed birds on alert.

Lem created a “strippling” painting method using tiny dots to make feathers look real.

Hunters Sought Their Lifelike Decoys

From 1932 to 1945, the brothers perfected their “Classic” style using white cedar from nearby swamps.

Big orders from sport hunters pushed them to create standard methods while keeping quality high. Their decoys looked more real than other store-bought options at the time.

Their fame spread from California to Venezuela as serious hunters wanted the best decoys, making the Ward name mean quality.

Great Depression Boosted Decoy Demand

The Great Depression forced more families to hunt for food, creating huge demand for good decoys.

Many families hunted ducks and geese to eat, needing decoys that could fool birds. The brothers made thousands of decoys during this time, often working late to fill orders.

News about Ward decoys spread among hunters, with many saying they caught more birds with Ward decoys than any others.

Plastic Decoys Threatened Their Business

The brothers changed their methods from 1945-1950, making simpler decoys with balsa bodies and cedar heads to keep up with orders.

Factory-made decoys became common, but the Wards stuck with handmade quality. They began making fancy bird carvings beyond just hunting decoys.

Lem made his first purely fancy pieces as early as 1918, but did more in the 1940s as he saw their craft changing.

From Hunting Tools To Art Objects

Factory-made plastic decoys flooded stores in the early 1950s, hurting the hunting decoy business that kept the Wards afloat.

The brothers knew they needed to switch from tools to art pieces. Collectors started wanting realistic Ward carvings as hunters saw value beyond just hunting use.

The brothers made a key choice to move toward making fancy wildlife art full-time, changing their career path forever.

Two Barbers Became “Wildfowl Counterfeiters”

The brothers stopped cutting hair in the late 1950s to carve wood full-time. Lem started putting real feathers into wooden birds for super-realistic looks.

This method became key for modern fancy bird carving. Their shop changed from making hunting tools to creating small and life-sized fancy birds for display.

They jokingly called themselves “Wildfowl Counterfeiters in Wood” because their birds looked so real.

National Geographic Featured Their Remarkable Story

The Ward brothers showed up in National Geographic magazine three times, with a big feature in September 1964.

They got honorary doctorates from Salisbury State College in 1972, despite leaving school early. President Ronald Reagan praised their work in American folk art in 1981.

Lem won the top National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship in 1983, securing their place in American art history.

The Ward Foundation Preserves Their Legacy

The Ward Foundation formed in 1968 to promote wildfowl art and preserve the brothers’ techniques and history.

The first World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition happened in 1971 with 148 carvers participating. This competition moved to Ocean City in 1979 and continues annually with international participation.

Over their careers, the brothers created an estimated 25,000 decoys and decorative birds, an astonishing output from their small workshop.

Their Carvings Now Fetch Small Fortunes

Steve died in 1976, and Lem continued carving until 1978 when his eyesight failed. The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art opened in 1992.

Their techniques and standards inspired an international community of decorative wildlife carvers who continue their tradition today. Ward decoys now command high auction prices, with a 2006 goldeneye drake selling for $109,250.

Two barbers from a small Maryland town created an entirely new American art form that thrives decades after their passing.

Visiting Crisfield, Maryland

You can visit the Ward Brothers’ workshop at 3199 Sackertown Road, where the Crisfield Heritage Foundation keeps everything exactly as the famous carving brothers left it.

Call 410-968-2501 to book your tour since they’re by appointment only. From May through October, they offer twice-monthly tours with live carving demonstrations.

Also check out the Tawes Museum at 3 Ninth Street for more Ward Brothers exhibits and the documentary film “Nature’s Counterfeiters.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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