A Tribute to Jeanette Rudy
Courtesy of Jim Hautman
Jim Hautman (b. 1964) won the competition for the 1990 Federal Duck Stamp with his image titled “Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks.” Twenty-five years old at the time, Hautman was the youngest artist ever to win the contest. He went on to win again for the 1995, 1999, 2011 and 2017 issues. He met Jeanette Rudy in 1995, and they have since become friends. “It was a real comfort to me,” he recalls, “meeting such a genuinely nice person. Her generosity and support of the Duck Stamp program are unmatched, and her collection is second to none.”
Hautman, who lives in Plymouth, Minnesota, produced remarques on his three winning stamps for Jeanette Rudy. An untrained artist who developed his natural abilities by observing his mother paint, he has won many state-level wildlife competitions and, most recently, he and his brothers Bob and Joe have completed a series of stamps for the United Nations featuring endangered species. His brothers Joseph and Robert have also won the Federal Duck Stamp Contest.
