1 OCTOBER 2012

Robert Steiner, an accomplished artist from San Francisco, became the winner of the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest on Saturday, 29 September.  The announcement was made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, at the end of the annual art contest, the only juried art competition sponsored by the federal government.

This year's contest judges were: Dudley Edmonson, a wildlife photographer, filmmaker, and author; Paul Higgins, an outdoor photographer whose work has been displayed in galleries and has appeared in national outdoors magazines; Don Paul, a wildlife biologist who served 34 years with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Marjory Sente, a stamp collector specializing in first day covers; and Christine Thomas, dean and professor of natural resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
 
Steiner' acrylic painting was of a male Common Goldeneye. This achievement represents Steiner's second Federal Duck Stamp Contest win.  His art previously appeared on the 1998-1999 Federal Duck Stamp. (That previous image was of a Barrow's Goldeneye.) Robert Steiner has taught college-level art, done free-lance book and magazine illustration, and, since the late 1980s, has established himself as a highly successful wildlife artist. He has won numerous state duck stamp competitions and his works have been exhibited across America.

For more on Robert Steiner, see here:
http://www.steinerprints.com/website/about_robert_steiner
 
Robert Steiner's acrylic painting of a Common Goldeneye will be made into the 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2013.  The Service produces the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, sometimes commonly known as the Duck Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.
 
Of 192 entries in this year's two-day art competition, 17 entries made it through to the final round of judging.  Paul Bridgeford of Des Moines, Iowa, placed second with his acrylic painting of a pair of Northern Shovelers.
 
Gerald Mobley of Claremore, Okla., took third place with his acrylic painting, also of a pair of Northern Shovelers. Mobley's art  had appeared on the 1985-1986 Federal Duck Stamp. (That was an image of a Cinnamon Teal.)

For more information, see the press release from the USFWS.