Joel Barber

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Joel Barber was an early 20th century architect from New York who is best known as an early collector and promoter of duck decoys as folk art.

Barber began collecting the carved wooden decoys in 1918 after finding one by accident near his Long Island boathouse. In addition to collecting and exhibiting the works, Barber organized decoy carving competitions and produced works of his own. But his most enduring contribution was his 1934 book Wild Fowl Decoys which is considered the seminal work on the subject, and remained the definite collector's guide for many decades after its publication. He also wrote a lesser known work of short stories and poetry, Long Shore, based on his experiences as an outdoorsman in New England.

Following his death in 1952, Barber's collection of about 400 decoys was given to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.