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(REFUGE) Art In The Wild
October 29, 2022 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm EDT
Each year, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge hosts the winning duck stamp artist in October to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge and the birthday of the refuge’s namesake, the very first duck stamp artist in 1935. Artist-cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, in fact, is largely responsible for the Federal Duck Stamp Program, which has purchased six million acres of now-protected wetlands since its inception.
James Hautman is the only federal duck stamp artist to have taken first place six times, most recently in 2021 during the 2022-2023 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. Considering that more than 100 typically compete each year in the contest, and that winners are not allowed to compete for the next three years, Hautman’s accomplishment has made a hallowed name for him in wildlife art circles. He and his two brothers, Joseph and Robert — also multiple duck stamp contest winners — even made the script for the 1996 hit comedic movie Fargo.