Second prize was awarded to Stanley Rayfield of Richmond, Va., who submitted a painting titled “Dad.” Third prize went to Adam Vinson of Jenkintown, Pa; his oil-on-panel painting is titled “Dressy Bessy Takes a Nap.” Commended artists are: Margaret Bowland, for a painting titled “Portrait of Kenyetta and Brianna”; Yolanda del Amo, for her C-print photograph, “Sarah, David”; Gaela Erwin, for her pastel-on-paper “Baptismal Self-Portrait”; and Emil Robinson for an oil-on-panel portrait titled “Showered.” Each was awarded a cash prize.
These works are finalists in the museum’s second national portrait competition. Of more than 3,300 entries submitted from across the country, 49 artists’ works were chosen to display in the exhibition; seven of these works were chosen for the short list. The competition received entries in every visual-arts medium.
Finalists for the 2009 competition were chosen in early May, and the winners were announced at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Awards Celebration Thursday, Oct. 22. In addition, one exhibiting artist will win the People’s Choice Award, in which visitors to the exhibition, both online and in the gallery, may cast a vote for their favorite of the 49 finalists. Voting for the People’s Choice Award will close Jan. 18, 2010.
Jurors for the competition were Wanda M. Corn, professor emerita in art history at Stanford University; Kerry James Marshall, artist; Brian O’Doherty, artist and critic; and Peter Schjeldahl, art critic for The New Yorker. Jurors from the National Portrait Gallery were Martin E. Sullivan, director; Carolyn K. Carr, deputy director and chief curator; and Brandon Brame Fortune, curator of painting and sculpture.
The exhibition of 49 portraits is open to the public Oct. 23 through Aug. 22, 2010.
The “Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009” exhibition is accompanied by a publication illustrating each of the 49 finalists’ works, including an essay by independent scholar Trevor Fairbrother. Distributed by the University of Washington Press, it will be available in the museum store for $13.95.
The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is a triennial event that invites figurative artists to submit entries in all media to be considered for prizes and display at the National Portrait Gallery. The endowment from the late Virginia Outwin Boochever has enabled the museum to conduct a national portrait competition and exhibition that encourages artists to explore the art of portraiture.
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