The ‘Super Bowl of Wildlife Art’ is all about ducks and has been protecting America’s wetlands for 90 years

Amid growing fears about the destruction of America’s wetlands in 1934, the United States government launched a new, unusual program to raise money for conservation: the Federal Duck Stamp.

The national competition calls for artwork depicting different species of waterfowl and puts the winner on a stamp that duck hunters must purchase each year. The initiative raises money to purchase or lease wetlands and wildlife habitat. To date, the historic program has raised more than $1.2 billion and preserved more than 6.5 million acres across the country – an area nearly the size of Massachusetts.

As the Duck Stamp turns 90 years old, a new exhibition puts the spotlight on how it bridges the gap between art and conservation. At the Bruce Museum, a venue in Greenwich, Connecticut specifically dedicated to the convergence of science and art, the duck-centric designs on display now.

The Bruce Museum gallery houses many of the original works of art behind the annual stamps: the paintings, sketches and drawings that were eventually reduced to four square inches and printed. Many pieces were donated to the museum by Richie Prager, who collects duck stamps and associated artwork since he was a teenager. The museum also included hand-carved duck decoys, waterfowl taxidermy and interactive information about different species.

“It’s fascinating to see the style of etchings, drawings and paintings evolve over time,” says paleontologist Daniel Ksepkacurator of the exhibition, to Artnetby Richard Whiddington. “The most important thing is the success of the program as a conservation tool; it almost certainly saved a number of species from extinction in its early decades and continues to preserve millions of hectares to this day.”

The duck stamp, also known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, was introduced under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase a new duck stamp each year, along with any necessary state permits and licenses. The stamps can also be purchased by non-hunters as they also guarantee access to all National Wildlife Refuges that charge entrance fees.

Today, buyers can choose between electronic or physical stamps. They cost $25, plus a $4 processing fee for the electronic versions. About 98 percent of the proceeds are used to purchase or lease land for the National Wildlife Refuge System, which “ensures that there will be land for wildlife and people that will be protected for generations to come,” according to the U.S. Fish and Game Service.

In 1989, the government also created one stamp junior duck program to teach school-age children about nature conservation. Some states have also set up their own duck stamp initiatives.

For the first decades, the federal duck stamp was designed by nature artists invited by the government to participate. The very first one was created by Jay Norwood darlinga Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, also known as ‘Ding’, who headed the US Biological Survey, a precursor to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Darling’s first draft, completed on a piece of cardboard, has been lost to history – probably thrown away after printers made the first copy, reports the New York Times“James Barron. But the new exhibition features a print of an etching of Darling’s design, starring wild ducks. Then in 1949, the government transformed the program into a competition open to all American artists.

Every year, hundreds of artists submit designs in hopes of having their work selected for the next stamp. They don’t receive any prize money, but they do get plenty of bragging rights in what has become known as the “Super Bowl of wildlife art,” Ksepka tells the Greenwich Sentinel‘s Anne W. Semmes.

They can also take pride in knowing that their work will be seen by the approximately 1.5 million people who buy duck stamps each year. According to the figures, between 900,000 and 1.1 million stamps are sold to hunters, while the rest are sold to conservationists and collectors. New York Times. Artists also retain the rights to their work, which allows them to sell prints, which is often lucrative.

This year’s competition was held at the Bruce Museum in mid-September. Adam Grimman artist from South Dakota, won the competition for his acrylic portrait of two spectacled eiders against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, reports say WSHUby Davis Dunavin. Grimm also won the competition in 1999 and 2013.

The artists’ submissions should follow a few guidelines. For example, they must be physiologically accurate and well composed. For a short time, under a Trump administration rule, they did just that had to contain an image of the hunt– a specification that Last week tonight host John Oliver took the opportunity to mock.

And perhaps most importantly, artists should also consider what the piece will look like as a postage stamp — because judges don’t want something to “look like a blob” once it’s shrunk, Grimm tells the jury. New York Times.

“You put everything into it, the design, the color, the attitude of the birds,” he adds. “There is no greater prize in the world of wildlife art.”

“Conservation Through Art: Celebrating the Federal Duck Stamp‘ is on view through February 9, 2025 at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.