The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest

by Martin J. Smith

Overview

THE WILD DUCK CHASE is the basis for “The Million Dollar Duck,” a documentary feature film, directed by Brian Golden Davis and written by Martin J. Smith, premiering at The Slamdance Film Festival in January 2016. The book takes readers into the peculiar world of competitive duck painting as it played out during the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest-the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. Since 1934, the duck stamp, which is bought annually by hunters to certify their hunting license, has generated more than $750 million, and 98 cents of each collected dollar has been used to help purchase or lease 5.3 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the United States.

As Martin J. Smith chronicles in his revealing narrative, within the microcosm of the duck stamp contest are intense ideological and cultural clashes between the mostly rural hunters who buy the stamps and the mostly suburban and urban birders and conservationists who decry the hunting of waterfowl. The competition also fuels dynamic tensions between competitors and judges, and among the invariably ambitious, sometimes obsessive and eccentric artists--including Minnesota's three fabled Hautman brothers, the "New York Yankees" of competitive duck painting. Martin Smith takes readers down an arcane and uniquely American rabbit hole into a wonderland of talent, ego, art, controversy, scandal, big money, and migratory waterfowl.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802779540
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	09/18/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Martin J. Smith is editor in chief of the monthly Orange Coast magazine and a former senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine. The author of several nonfiction books and crime novels, he lives in Southern California.
Martin J. Smith is editor-in-chief of Orange Coast monthly magazine and a former senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine. He is author of several mystery novels and his nonfiction books include include Oops: 20 Life Lessons From the Fiascoes That Shaped America (with co-author Patrick J. Kiger) and Poplorica.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 The Hunters Gather 4

Chapter 2 The First Battle of Specklebelly 19

Chapter 3 Guns, Greed, and the Grand Idea 35

Chapter 4 Round One 58

Chapter 5 The Second Battle of Specklebelly 79

Chapter 6 The Annual Ordeal of Artistic Choices 99

Chapter 7 The Power of the Prize 116

Chapter 8 Round Two 129

Chapter 9 What Is Art, Anyway? 146

Chapter 10 Round Three 168

Chapter 11 The Looming Threats 177

Chapter 12 The Hunter-Hugger Schism 196

Chapter 13 Judgment Day: The Tiebreak Round 205

Chapter 14 Where the Wild Things Are 215

Appendix A How to Buy a Duck Stamp 229

Appendix B The Federal Duck Stamp Artists 231

Appendix C The Imitators 235

Acknowledgments 237

Notes 241

List of Illustrations 253

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

Smith, editor-in-chief of Orange Coast magazine, serves as the “fly on the wall” during the highly competitive 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest in his new book, tracing its origins and its current popularity. The contest, originating with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1934 wildlife preservation law in the Great Depression, provides for “the sale of an obscure revenue stamp” bought by hunters and stamp collectors, generating more than million in funds, with 98 cents of each dollar going to buy millions of acres of U.S. waterfowl habitat since its inception. With a low-key writing style supported by fine research, Smith takes the readers behind the scenes as five judges weigh the artistic and commercial quality of the 235 submissions in the only juried contest administered by the U.S. government. The Hautman brothers, Jim, Joe, and Bob, are the most fascinating of the artistic competitors, but the author paints many of the participants in a lively, entertaining manner while the contest runs its hectic course. Smith’s compelling story of a largely forgotten federal program will cast some timely light on the ongoing clash between rural hunters and urban conservationists on preserving the habitat of waterfowl. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Martin Smith's The Wild Duck Chase is a smartly written, wonderful look at waterfowl conservation at its apex. Every page was a treat. Once you start, you won't be able to stop. Highly recommend!" —Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and author of WILDERNESS WARRIOR: THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE CRUSADE FOR AMERICA

"Participation borders on and, frequently, merges with obsession . . . And obsession makes for a surprisingly compelling read." —Los Angeles Times

"Well-written, insightful, and just plain fun to read." —David Allen Sibley, author of THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS

"An interesting bit of Americana well reported." —Kirkus Reviews

"Martin Smith investigates a little-known federal program and finds it brimming with fun characters, a quirky culture, and valuable lessons for anyone who wants government to actually work." —Mark Obmascik, author of THE BIG YEAR

From the Publisher

Martin Smith's The Wild Duck Chase is a smartly written, wonderful look at waterfowl conservation at its apex. Every page was a treat. Once you start, you won't be able to stop. Highly recommend!

professor of history at Rice University and author Douglas Brinkley

An eye-opening and thought-provoking glimpse into the downright wonderful world of duck stamp competition.

author of The Nature Principle and Last Child in t Richard Louv

As Orange Coast editor in chief Smith (Straw Men, 2001, etc.) reports, the Federal Duck Stamp Program is one of the most successful government programs ever. In his side job as chief of what became the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cartoonist Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling made bird hunters the stewards of their wetlands by selling them annual duck stamps for the license to hunt. Darling drew the first in 1934. Since then, those prized little stickers have generated more than $750 million. Of each of those dollars, just 2 cents went for overhead; the rest was for wetland management. Eventually, duck-stamp painting became the sole juried art competition run by the American government, and it has been copied by many states and foreign jurisdictions. Smith covered the 2010 contest and its strict rules and earnest artists. The winning hand-painted entry is reduced to stamp size and must depict one of five selected birds. The waterfowl portraitist must understand avian anatomy and know every feather--some birds flap more than others to keep aloft, some are better just paddling around--and it takes three rounds to judge the winner. The stakes are high. Collectors seek to buy a duck print signed by the winner, and other fees add to the purse, which in the past was said to approach $1 million (less now). Despite the stakes, however, the media is apathetic about this successful federal program, and the pro-am contest isn't well known outside of the hunting and collecting world. Smith aims to fix that. An interesting bit of Americana well reported.

Kirkus Reviews