From the Frank Finney book,
A Causal Mechanism
Born in May of 1947 in Cornwall, England, while his father was serving in the US Navy, Frank Finney moved with his family to the United States when he was seven and grew up in the Tidewater area of Virginia. As a child he spent much of his time fishing and hunting. Inspired by the wildfowl he saw almost every day, he began carving before he entered his teens, largely ducks and geese. At this time also began his fascination with the ancient Native Americans who once populated the coastal areas of Virginia Beach and northern North Carolina, spending many hours hunting artifacts and learning about their culture, an interest that continues to this day and has led to his extensive collection of arrowheads, stone tools, and pottery.
After high school, he enlisted in the Army and served in Vietnam where he was wounded in action. He received many awards for his service, including the Purple Heart, V-Valor Battalion Award, and the United States Army Commendation Award. After his time in the Army, while Frank took up commercial fishing in the early 70’s, he continued to carve birds and began to sell them as well. In the mid-70’s, he was chosen to head-up a project to restore the historic Cavalier Hotel (located on the oceanfront in Virginia Beach) to its former elegance to allow the owners to re-open it for guests. This six-year undertaking provided an outlet and motivation for his creativity and ingenuity, and, when the project was largely completed, he decided to become a full-time artist.
Over the next years, Frank’s work consisted largely of swans, ducks, and fish. As he showed his work in many of the decoy and wildlife exhibitions around Virginia and Maryland, he became well known within the circle of antique decoy collectors and various auction houses which specialized in those pieces. He subsequently gained a reputation as an expert restorer, as well as an extremely versatile carver and artist.
Besides carving, Frank also traveled extensively during his 30’s, visiting virtually every country in Europe, surfing in El Salvador, and trekking through parts of Kenya, Tanzania, and Somalia.
In 1989, Frank married his wife Mary who began working with him in 1995, after they moved from Virginia Beach to Northampton County, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia where they purchased a century-old farmhouse, still undergoing restoration and a labor of love. Along with building and carving projects, there is always a large vegetable garden to be tended, as well as a flock of chickens and peafowl. Three spoiled dogs, Mary’s horse, and an elderly donkey round out the Finney Farm.
Despite all the activities and chores of country life, the carving and creating is ever-present. Over the years, Frank’s subject matter has evolved and expanded. Rather than focusing solely on the traditional duck and swan decoy-type form, Finney has produced carvings of songbirds, fish, dogs, cats, game boards, bird trees, whirly-gigs, and even humans! His work covers the spectrum from primitive to semi-realist, with Frank’s unique style and his expertise in patina and surface.
(“Frank Finney: Multi-Talented Folk Artist,”
Fishing and Collectibles Magazine, March-April 2018,
by Mary and Audrey Finney)
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