Art's nomination by Dr. Ronald Pen, of the University of Kentucky's John Jacob Niles Center for American Music.

"Please allow me to advocate the candidacy of Mr. Art Stamper as a nominee for the Governor's Awards in the Arts in the Folk Heritage Award category.

Art Stamper is an exceptional traditional musician who has practiced his art as a professional fiddler for a career spanning fifty-nine years. Born in 1933 at Hindman, Kentucky, Art was the son of noted old time fiddler Hiram Stamper. The Stampers and Tripletts were a family of musicians who shared influences with the celebrated nineteenth-century fiddlers Luther Strong, Fiddler "Shade" Slone, and Bell Baker.

Art learned to play the fiddle by age nine and at age twelve he was already playing regularly at community dances and social functions. In the early 1950s Art joined the Stanley Brothers band and made important recordings with them on the Rich-R-Tone label. After several years in the armed forces, Art returned home to rejoin the Stanley Brothers and in 1956 Art began playing and recording with the Osborne Brothers and Red Allen.

In 1956 he exchanged his life as a professional musician for the more sedentary profession of hairdresser outside Louisville, KY, but in 1979 he returned actively to music and played with the Goins Brothers through the mid-1980s. In 1982 his recording "The Lost Fiddler: Art Stamper" was released on the County label. In 1995 Art was "rediscovered" by the old time music community, which resulted in a reinvigorated career marked by his driving performances of archaic Kentucky tunes such as "Brushy Fork of John's Creek." This resulted in his remarkable recording "Goodbye Girls I'm Going to Boston," accompanied by some of the foremost old time musicians of a younger generation. In recent years, Art has invested himself in the future of traditional music by serving as a master teacher at a wealth of traditional music venues, including Hindman’s Family Folk Week, Cowan Creek School, Swannanoa Gathering’s Old Time Music Week, Seedtime on the Cumberland, Mountain View Folk Center, and the Augusta Heritage Festival. Consequently, his unique family repertoire and unique fiddling style have been disseminated throughout the country.

Art's musical career represents the full chronology of Kentucky fiddle styles from the direct heritage of the earliest solo fiddle repertoire to innovative bluegrass and swing styles, through popular airs and show tunes. His virtuosic personal style fuses the best of both folk tradition and innovative musical genres. It is most fitting and proper that Kentucky recognize the native son who has contributed so much to the musical life of the United States and reflected so radiantly on the musical reputation of our Commonwealth.