Hautman Brothers

The Hautman Brothers have established themselves among America’s foremost wildlife artists. All three brothers have received numerous honors and awards and have dominated many state and national duck stamp competitions. Most recently, James Hautman took first place in the highly coveted 2025 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. James, Robert, and Joe are the only brothers ever to win the coveted Federal Duck Stamp Contest and have won the prestigious award a total of 16 times including an unprecedented podium sweep in 2015, where they placed first, second and third place with their paintings. At last count, the three brothers have seen their art featured on over 50 state and federal stamps.

The Hautmans are so dominant in what is considered the ultimate prize in wildlife art that their talents were featured on CBS News Sunday Morning and noted in a subplot of the Oscar-winning movie Fargo. Additionally both the book The Wild Duck Chase as well as the documentary The Million Dollar Duck which aired on The Animal Planet, prominently feature the Hautman Brothers while exploring the unique world of competitive duck painting; the cornerstone of one of the world’s most successful conservation programs which has generated nearly $800 million toward conserving wetland habitats.

The brothers have received national accolades from newspapers and major publications such as USA Today, The Washington Post, Time, US News & World Report, Sports Illustrated and many more. Their incredible story was recently highlighted by the National Audubon Society in their 2025 fall issue of Audubon Magazine. The Hautmans’ creations have been personally presented to the president in the Oval Office and are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. In 2003 the three Hautman Brothers were selected to design a series of endangered species stamps for the United Nations.

Watch the Ducks Unlimited film featuring the Hautman Brothers as they hunt together and reflect on the connections between their artwork and wildlife conservation.

James Hautman’s career took off in 1989 when, at the age of 25, he became the youngest artist to win the Federal Duck Stamp Award and is the only artist to have won the award an astonishing seven times, including his most recent victory in 2025. He was commissioned by the United Nations to paint a series of endangered species stamp designs. In addition, Jim was chosen as the Ducks Unlimited 2011 Artist of the Year as well as 2014 Pheasants Forever Artist of the year.

Robert Hautman's career was launched in 1987 with his first duck stamp win. Since then he has gone on to win numerous awards and duck stamps, including the Federal Duck Stamp three times. He was commissioned by the United Nations to paint a series of endangered species stamp designs and was chosen to be the 2013 Pheasants Forever Artist of the Year.

Joe Hautman, the eldest of the three brothers. With his most recent victory in 2022, Joe has now won the Federal Duck Stamp competition a total of six times. He has designed several state wildlife stamps and his artwork has been used to raise funds for many non-profit conservation groups including Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and the Sierra Club. Painting is a second career for Joe, who holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics.

While the majority of the Hautman Brothers designs are North American wildlife, they have also painted a variety of animals from around the world such as tigers, pandas and penguins. For a look at their latest paintings, visit www.hautman.com or see their entire library of artwork at www.mhslicensing.com.