“Conservation Through the Arts: Celebrating the Federal Duck Stamp,” on display at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich until Feb. 9, 2025, is the first exhibition to bring together the majority of artworks selected for the annual Federal Duck Stamp.
One of the most successful conservation programs in U.S. history, the Federal Duck Stamp has inspired generations of wildlife artists by showcasing and promoting their most exquisite works. For the first time, the exhibit brings together over 70 works of art representing the original winning designs for the annual stamp.
Since its launch in 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp has raised more than $1.2 billion to preserve more than 6.5 million acres of wetlands across the U.S. All duck hunters must buy the stamp, which supports conservation and acquisition of wetlands where the birds thrive.
In early years, the annual stamp design was selected by a panel from a shortlist of invited artists. Since 1949, a contest has been held to select the design of the annual stamp — the only art competition run by the U.S. government.
The exhibition is made possible by the donation of more than 60 artworks by Connecticut collector Richie Prager. Visitors will witness how the style of the drawings, etchings, and paintings evolved over time, learn about historical processes for translating art into stamp designs by engraving, and find out how the Duck Stamp has permeated popular culture.
The exhibition also features historic documents associated with the program, waterfowl taxidermy and carved decoys from the museum’s history and natural history collections, and examples of Duck Stamps, including presentation panes, plate blocks, and stamps signed and remarqued by artists. There are interactives, such as “hatchable” eggs that reveal images of ducklings, buttons that play audio of duck calls. Guests are able to collect stamps on their own Duck Stamp Passports.
Hundreds of artists vie each year for the prestige of seeing their art grace the new stamp. The Bruce will serve as the host venue for the 2024 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest at the Museum on Sept. 19 and 20.
At the two-day event, a panel of five expert judges examines hundreds of entries to select the winning design for the 2025 Federal Duck Stamp.
Additional programs associated with the exhibition include screenings of two films: the documentary “The Million Dollar Duck,” which chronicles the fierce competition of the 2014 Duck Stamp Contest (Oct. 6), and the film “Wings Over Water,” about the migratory journeys of birds (Oct. 17).
Arthur Stampleman is an emeritus docent at the Bruce Museum.