Lou Schifferl: A Wisconsin Lifetime Artist and Decoy Carver

A Decoy Corner Article

By Bruce Urben, President

Wisconsin has a treasure trove of vintage carvers whose decoys have been tools of the trade in our rivers, lakes and streams for generations. Lou Schifferl is one Wisconsin carver who caught the carving bug through his interest in collecting duck decoys.

Lou Schifferl was born in 1931 and was raised on the south side of Chicago. Lou had an interest in art at a young age and ultimately received his training in graphic design at Chicago’s American Academy of Art. He joined the air force during the Korean War and also served in Japan. Following his military service, Lou worked in Chicago as a commercial artist and then moved to Green Bay where he worked for Fort Howard Paper Co. as an artist for the rest of his career.

After moving to Green Bay, Lou became interested in folk art and began collecting duck decoys. At that time, the Bay of Green Bay was a duck hunting destination and duck hunters were swapping out their old wood decoys for lighter plastic models. Lou quickly became friends of nationally known decoy collectors while pursuing his collecting career, including Bill Mackey (Father of Decoy collectors), Lloyd Tyler and Hal Sorensen (publisher of decoy collecting guide). Lou was advertising and buying old decoys by the truckload, supplying many of his collecting peers. As the years went on, Lou began restoring old decoys and soon began carving his own decoys. Restoring decoys soon took a back seat to his carving, where he became world renowned for his uniqueness and creativity. He had a number of faithful dealers and buyers and Lou’s creations would fly out the door as fast as he could make them.

Lou’s daughter, Pam, began working with him when she was sixteen. She was a quick study and exceptionally talented like her father and soon became nationally known for her work as well.

Lou has always had a reputation for being generous with his time and talents; donating his time and work for magazines, organizations and collecting guides. His work graced covers of magazines and important decoy collecting books. He was a regular attendee at the Midwest Decoy Collectors annual event in Illinois and was usually “sold out” of his carvings before he entered the building!

Lou was a talented artist and was one who did not come up through the ranks carving his own hunting decoys, rather producing exceptional decoys with an eye to the natural world of the bird itself. He carved his decoys from all mediums, and his style changed with the attitude of each piece he produced.

Lou has slowed down some in his old age, now living near Neenah, WI, but is still known nationally and internationally for his work as a carver, illustrator, graphic designer and for his paintings in both watercolor and oil. Lou is humble, modest, generous and an exceptionally talented artist. Collectors say that if you are lucky enough to find one of his creations, you should snap it up before somebody else does!

Take the time to look closely at artwork in old magazines or classic hunting and fishing books and I am sure you will see a number with his classic signature in a small modest corner.

A true Wisconsin original!