MAYNARD REECE

Maynard Reece gained his knowledge of, and appreciation for the beauty of America's heartland first hand. His father was a Quaker minister, and they moved frequently. In 1940 Reece was hired as an artist for the Iowa Department of History and Archives in the museum at Des Moines. In 1948, he won the Federal duck-stamp competition for the first time. In 1950, Reece became a full-time free lance artist, and since then he has become one of the leading wildlife artists in America and around the world. The success and tradition of Maynard Reece's art has made his work the standard for North American waterfowl art. The range and variety of Reece's work are matched only by the variety of the waterfowl species he paints and the ranges of the continental flyways they traverse. . The art of Maynard Reece captures the drama, the serenity and the elusive sense of reality. The high esteem in which Reece is held by conservationists, sportsmen and by his colleagues in the art world is unmatched. The generation of wildlife artists that has followed him considers him their inspiration and model. Maynard Reece's association with duck stamp programs alone spans forty years. The phenomenal success of his 1972 First of Iowa State Duck Stamp remains the benchmark by which all other programs are measured. The only five-time winner of the Federal Duck Stamp Competition — an accomplishment unlikely to be repeated — Maynard Reece has an unparalleled record of artistic achievement. His artwork is collected across the United States and Canada and throughout the world. Reece is a dynamic artist who is never satisfied; as he says, "I'm just beginning to see what is possible."

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1982 Arkansas Duck Stamp