Winning a painting competition can earn you recognition within your field. Professional artists know that one of the quickest ways to gain fame and (sometimes) fortune is through awards and prizes.
Although many prizes are highly competitive, the competitions are often open to all – and often choose works by relatively unknown artists. This means that even the most humble of painters should consider entering competitions.
Here’s our pick of the best annual painting competitions. Before you enter, we have a whole host of advice on choosing the right art competition for you.
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Jackson’s Art Prize
This annual competition often pops up in any search for art competitions. It has plenty of categories, including prizes for oil painters, acrylic painters and watercolor painters. And you have a chance at scoring overall winner, a cash prize of around $7,000 and several exhibition opportunities in London. Have a look at previous winners to get an idea of what they might be looking for and keep your eye out for calls for entry to the 2025 competition, likely to open in the summer. There’s also a newsletter you can sign up to for alerts.
More info: https://www.jacksonsart.com/paintingprize/
Royal Society of British Artists
Another esteemed prize from a 200-year-old institution that prides itself on rewarding the best international contemporary artwork. This competition is open to different mediums but gets a mention here as most of its work is panting. Finalists are usually a healthy mix of portraiture, landscape and botanical paintings, with a few abstract artworks thrown in to break up all that representation.
More info: https://royalsocietyofbritishartists.org.uk/
Contemporary Watercolour Competition
Any competition run by a Royal Society is going to bring kudos with it. And the Contemporary Watercolour Competition, run by the 200-year-old Royal Watercolour Society, was established to address the prejudice against watercolour painters.
This prize continues to show how watercolour can more than hold its own in the painting medium. The competition has been renamed the RWS Open and will open for its 2025 competition in autumn.
More info: https://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/competition
International Watercolour Masters 2024
More than a competition, this event is a festival aimed at celebrating all things watercolor. In 2024 the UK-based festival slated for May features exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, and of course competitions. Although not yet confirmed as an annual event, our fingers are crossed.
More info: https://internationalwatercolourmasters.com/
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters
The society boasts a big headline Open Call competition complete with an exhibition at London’s famous Mall Galleries. But the society (which you are encouraged to join) offers regular prizes and opportunities for portrait painters. Far from stuffy, as you might expect from such a grand society, they are always looking for new approaches and styles.
More info: https://therp.co.uk/portrait-artists-opportunities/
International Portrait Prize
The Portrait Society of America is the place to go if you want to win $50,000 and one of the most prestigious titles in the US for portrait and figurative painters.
The competition for 2024 is closed, but it boasted more than $150,000 in prizes. Despite the organization’s name, it’s an international competition and is open to members and non-members alike.
More info: https://www.portraitsociety.org/the-international-portrait
Royal Institute of Oil Painters
This 150-year-old institution has an annual open call for oil painters from across the world. Each year has a theme — 2023’s was “Urban Life.” There are prizes for small paintings (max. size 11.8 in/30 cm) and emerging prizes too. There are cash prizes, exhibition opportunities, and the chance to feature on their website.
More info: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/royal-institute-oil-painters
Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024
The National Portrait Gallery, one of London’s best public galleries, is the home of this prestigious international portrait award that has been running for more than 40 years. It has attracted entrants from more than 100 countries. The gallery is home to some of the finest portraiture from the last 500 years, and winners will find themselves sharing walls with likenesses of Queen Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare and Henry VIII. The annual show is one of the highlights in the gallery’s calendar.
More info: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2024/hsf-portrait-award
Titian Portrait Competition
Think Renaissance painter and the name Titian will likely be one of first that pops up. This 16th-century artist took the art of portraiture to new heights, and this competition recognizes his brilliance by inviting contemporary artists to share their portraiture.
Painters will share the stage with sculptors, which also forms part of the competition. The vast majority of 2024 finalists are oil painters, but there are also a few acrylic and watercolour painters.
More info: https://www.titiancompetition.com/
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