Dick Richardson "Decoy Expert" Bag Man

Dick Richardson: L.I.D.C.A.'s Vice President and Bag Man

On October 6, 2016,  Joe Jannsen and I presented a PowerPoint presentation on decoy carver, Charles Sumner Bunn (1865-1952), from the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, Southampton, N.Y.  The presentation was held at the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum in Riverhead, N.Y.

We were originally scheduled for a September date. Then we were suddenly bumped to October.  I was fairly certain the switch in dates was due from pressure from the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association.  The Long Island Decoy Collectors Association had installed an exhibit of Broadbill decoys and gunning Broadbill on the Great South Bay, and it was an exceptionally nice exhibit.  The museum also decided to exhibited decoys from their own collection in conjunction with the Broadbill exhibit.

When I was at the museum in August, I noticed that many of the decoys from the museum's collection were incorrectly cataloged as to maker and dating.  For example, Armstrong canvas mallards were listed as made by a Long Island maker in the 1850's and a Dodge black duck listed as made by a L.I. carver with an erroneous date.  I pointed this out to the museum's director.  She explained that the donor of the decoys had made all the attributions when they were donated in the 1970's.  I  told her that Joe Jannsen and I would be glad go over the collection and correctly identify as many as we could.  The director was surprised that none of the L.I.D.C.A. members had pointed out the misattributions, especially when some of its members were attending the opening of their Broadbill exhibit.  With all the  decoys already on display, the director thought it would be the perfect time for our presentation on Charles Bunn.

But the director had no idea of the bad blood between some of the L.I.D.C.A members and myself and I didn't think it was my place to acknowledge this rift. We were giving a talk on Charles Bunn. We were bringing Long Island decoy history to people outside of the "Decoy Community".

I had thought there might have been some sort of protest from some L.I.D.C.A. members, but I was definitely not prepared for what I heard later after our presentation as to what had been going on in the background for weeks prior to the presentation.

What I found out is almost unbelievable and it also shows how low certain  L.I.D.C.A. members will go, Dick Richardson in particular.  Some L.I.D.C.A. members will do anything to try to discredit and stifle the research that we have for Charles Bunn and also to defame me in the process.

I had learned through the grapevine of Dick Richardson's unprecedented treachery in his attempt to have our presentation canceled.  I have been told by reliable sources that Dick Richardson, the Vice President of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association, harangued the museum's director for weeks prior to our presentation, incessantly begging her to cancel our presentation.

Dick Richardson was L.I.D,C.A's point man on this mission. He and his wife have been associated with the museum for sometime, so Dick was the choice to carry the water for L.I.D.C.A.  But I would not be surprised at all to learn that it was L.I..D.C.A's. President, Timmy Seiger, who sent Dick on this not so covert operation.  Timmy doesn't like to get his hands dirty.  Dick has never appeared to be overburdened with intellect, and as Timmy' V.P., he is the perfect pawn for a dirty job.

I would also not be surprised that in there arrogance, they may have promised their Bowman allies  that they could stop our presentation, which would account for what appears to be Dick  Richardson nonstop childishly desperate antics.  I would not be surprised if he didn't lay on his back and kick his feet like a toddler.  Or maybe he did?

What Dick didn't understand is that I am a member of the New York State Public Historians Association and the Mastic Beach Village Historian, not to mention a contributing writer at Decoy Magazine.  These are called credentials.  Dick has no credentials. He's just another self-appointed decoy expert.
       
                 "expert: an unknowledgeable person possessing a great deal of  confidence"

We had sent the museum an early version of Joe's Bunn PowerPoint.  The museum staff were able to evaluated the quality and credibility of our research prior to our presentation.  And after their review, the museum proclaimed, "This well-researched and illustrated presentation focuses on the extraordinary life and art of Charles Sumner Bunn."  Dick isn't used to dealing with academics.  He is used to dealing with decoy collectors, many of whom are fond of wallowing in ignorance.

Richardson's campaign began when some members of L.I.D.C.A. found out that Joe and I were doing a PowerPoint presentation on Charles Bunn.  Dick Richardson is said to have told the director that he would takes out his decoys if we did our presentation while the L.I.D.C.A. exhibit was still up.  He is also reported to have said that he didn't even want me in the same room with his decoys.  I was also told that Richardson even had the gall to to attend the museum's board of directors meeting to plead his case.  I also heard more than once that Dick Richardson even offered bribes in the form of "generous donations" from L.I.D.C.A. to the museum. Richardson is said to have told the director that, "We have a lot of money", which they would donate some of to the Museum if she would just cancel our presentation.

It is very interesting that the majority of  the L.I.D.C.A. members stupidly voted at the September 2015 meeting to, "STAY OUT OF THE BOWMAN/ BUNN CONTROVERSY."  This was pointed out in Hunting &Fishing Collectibles Magazine November/December 2015 in Ronnie McGrath's "Bowman/Bunn Last Words" on page 11, and this so called "controversy" is a contrived controversy by the Bowman supporters who's position has been proven to have no merit whatsoever.

I would say that by sending Dick Richardson as L.I.D.C.A.'s first bag man to try to stop our presentation for Bunn is not staying out of it.  It is in fact jumping in with both feet and using L.I.D.C.A.'s checkbook to try to pull off their attempted sabotage.  All of Richardson's actions show he is very involved and L.I.D.C.A, was very involved.

I have also heard that the director became totally fed up with Dick's incessant howling.  There are directors who may take bribes in the form of donations, but the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum and it's director is not one of them.

I do wonder how large the bribe would have been. Oh excuse me, "donation", that L.I.D.C.A. was willing to spend. How much was L.I.D.C.A's donation in an attempt silence a messenger of truth?
It's interesting how Dick Richardson always claims he doesn't know anything about the "Bunn / Bowman controversy" and he also claims that he doesn't care anything about who made the decoys. He maintains that he is only interested in Bellport, L.I. decoys.  At least that is what he has told me every time we meet.  Last year when I saw him, he even pretended he didn't know who Ronnie McGrath was.  He referred to Ronnie as, "That guy from Maryland who writes for that other magazine".  I pretended I didn't known who he was talking about.  You act a fool, I will treat you as a fool.

Well apparently Dick has become very interested in the so called Bunn/Bowman controversy, enough for Dick to become L.I.D.C.A.'s very first bag man.  Hopefully in the future Dick won't behave in such an unethical manner by trying to offer money as leverage in a battle that he and his handlers can't win on documented evidence.

And all the  L.I.D.C.A. membership should be ashamed of its leadership's conduct prior to our presentation.  Dick should also stop telling people that he is not involved in the "Bunn/Bowman controversy".

The facts are there have been thirteen years of "controversy" perpetrated by people who have no facts, only an agenda.  Another fact is that more and more collectors /dealers are accepting Bunn as the maker.

The Bowman supporters are finally failing to counter documentation with fable and fabrication.
This should have happened years ago and it would have, except for those people who have pursued an agenda of denying historical documentation, including some members of L.I.D.C.A.

Dick Richardson's late brother Harvey was a very early decoy collector and  Harvey was a really nice person.  Some of the birds from Harvey's collection were featured in Adele Earnest's book The Art Of The Decoy and in the Decoy Collectors Guide.  It was  only after Harvey's death that Dick became a self-anointed decoy expert.  I'm fairly sure Harvey would find it extremely humorous that his brother is now masquerading as a decoy expert.