Here’s a good-news follow-up to a story we published last week about HBO host John Oliver’s attention to the annual Federal Duck Stamp contest.
Oliver and his team at “Last Week Tonight” commissioned five satirical paintings of ducks for this year’s contest and auctioned them off on eBay. The auctions closed Friday night, and all together, they raised nearly $100,000 for the Federal Duck Stamp program.
The highest bid among the five piece was $33,200 for the the painting above, “Duck Hunt,” by Eric Joyner. The image shows a Blue-winged Teal in the midst of a scene from the 1980s Nintendo video game “Duck Hunt.”
Here’s how the other paintings fared. “Duck Judges” by Bill Mayer took in $25,250. “Duck with a Pearl Earring” by Omar Rayyan raised $16,185.42. “Duck Hunting Hunters” by Josie Morway was close behind at $16,100. And “Feuding Artist Handshake” by Roberto Parada brought in $8,988. The grand total was $99,723.42.
For anyone interested in prints of these paintings, Eric Joyner offers signed limited-edition prints for between $40 and $435. And Bill Mayer offers custom prints for $100.
In a statement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said:
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is excited ‘Last Week Tonight’ with John Oliver is supportive of wildlife and wetland conservation. For nearly 90 years, the Duck Stamp Program has been instrumental in conserving waterfowl and wildlife habitat, and we look forward to continuing to build upon this rich wildlife heritage.”
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