Proposed by: Cincinnati Town & Country Garden Club, Zone X

John A. Ruthven, naturalist, author, lecturer, and wildlife artist, has dedicated his life to conserving our natural treasures. Often referred to as the "20th-century Audubon," Ruthven’s eye for realism in his artwork has burnished his reputation worldwide. He is known across the globe for his stunning works of art whose painstaking details are matched by their lifelike beauty. Ruthven was drawn (pun intended) to his career, a calling he developed at a young age, to help preserve nature’s endangered species. He first came to national attention in 1960 when the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Postal Service featured his Redhead Ducks painting on a stamp for the Federal Duck Stamp initiative, a program that has is secured millions of acres of natural habitat for America’s flora and fauna. Ruthven’s work has been displayed in esteemed institutions from the White House to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and he has been highly decorated for his contributions (e.g., National Medal of Arts presented by President George W. Bush). At 90, Ruthven’s passion and energy have not diminished.  He continues to devote his time and considerable talents to preserving nature through his advocacy and artistry, and his prodigious body of work bestows future generations with a visual record of nature’s threatened and vanishing species.  He is a national treasure devoted to protecting our natural treasures.