Rudolph Wendelin Collection of Smokey Bear Paintings

Rudolph “Rudy” Andreas Michael Wendelin was born on February 27, 1910, in Herndon, Kansas, and grew up in the nearby town of Ludell. He studied at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and at art schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. He began his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1933 as a draftsman and illustrator in Milwaukee. He transferred to the Washington, D.C., office in 1937. After a stint as a Navy artist during World War II, Wendelin returned to the Forest Service and was given responsibility for the Smokey Bear project. He created hundreds of Smokey representations that highlighted natural resources conservation and forest fire prevention.

Under Wendelin’s direction, Smokey assumed the human-like characteristics by which he is best known – wearing a solemn expression, dressed in a forest ranger’s hat and jeans, and carrying a shovel. As Smokey became the popular symbol of the Forest Service’s wildfire prevention campaign, Wendelin was recognized for his important contributions. His many awards included the Medal of Honor presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Horace Hart Award from the graphic arts industry, and both Silver and Gold Smokey Bear Awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wendelin was also known as a landscape painter, a sculptor, a political cartoonist, and the artist behind the Forest Service’s 1948 watershed protection film, The Adventures of Junior Raindrop. The Woodsy Owl anti-pollution campaign also owes a debt of gratitude to Wendelin. He designed or co-designed six commemorative U.S. postage stamps, including the 1958 Forest Conservation stamp, the 1964 John Muir stamp, the 1969 John Wesley Powell stamp, and the 1984 stamp featuring Smokey Bear.

Wendelin continued his association with Smokey Bear after retiring from the Forest Service in 1973, producing numerous calendar and book illustrations.

He died on August 31, 2000, at the age of 90.