Minnesota artist Bob Hautman wins federal duck stamp contest for fourth time

Memphis, Tenn. — Minnesota’s own Bob Hautman, from Delano, won the 2026 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest today with his acrylic painting of a pair of long-tailed ducks. After two days of judging, the announcement happened at an in-person event and via livestream at Ducks Unlimited headquarters in Memphis.

Hautman’s artwork will become the 2027-2028 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, more commonly known as the Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2027.

This is Hautman’s fourth time winning the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. He and his brothers now collectively have won the competition 17 times. James Hautman won last year’s contest for the record seventh time. A third brother, Joe, has won the prestigious wildlife art event, which dates back to 1934, six times.

With just her second-ever entry, 20-year-old Madison Grimm of Wallace, S.D., placed second with a painting of a single king eider. Joe Hautman, of Plymouth, Minn., placed third with a portrait of a single king eider.

In a quick phone interview with Outdoor News after the judging ceremony, Bob Hautman expressed his surprise at winning the competition with six-time-winning brother Joe in the race.

“I don’t think I’ve ever beat him before!” he said.

As last year’s winner, James Hautman was not eligible for this year’s competition, and Bob will now be ineligible for three years.

Of 331 entries judged in this year’s competition, 15 entries made it to the final round of judging. Five waterfowl species were eligible for the 2026 contest: cackling goose, blue-winged teal, mottled duck, long-tailed duck, and king eider.

Bob said he selected longtails as his subject species after bagging a specimen in Alaska that’s now mounted in his studio. The deepest of the diving ducks, longtails can dive up to 150 feet.

“They’re a beautiful and fascinating bird, and I have that really cool mount,” he said. “Also, I think eight of the 15 top entries were king eiders, so having something different may have helped me today.”

He captured his first federal duck stamp win in 1997, then also won it in 2001 and 2017 – attending the live judging all three times. This year he watched a livestream from his home in Delano with his wife, Dodie Logue.

In 2025, Hautman said he submitted what he considered his best entry ever featuring a bufflehead, then watched it receive low scores during the second day of judging.

“I’d never done that bad in my entire 30 to 40 years of entering the contest, so this year, I couldn’t even watch the first day’s judging,” he said. “But this year’s entry stayed in there, and it really shocked me.”

The judges for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were: John Carlson, Jr., Tom Finley, Catherine Hamilton, Kathryn Johnson, David Turner and Ken Richkus (alternate).

The federal Duck Stamp raises approximately $40 million in sales each year. These funds support conservation of wetland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.