- Entries opened today Monday 30th September 2019
- The deadline for entries is Friday 29 November, 12 noon
- For full terms and conditions, click here.
- the exhibition
- cash prizes and awards
- who can enter
- what you can enter
- how to enter
The Royal Society of British Artists seeks submissions of work displaying the highest standards of skill, expression and concept of draughtsmanship
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| RBA Annual Exhibition 2019 - Small works in the Main Gallery - prints, drawings and paintings |
Exhibition in 2020
The Exhibition in 2020 has been brought forward from July to February 2020 and will held, as usual, at the Mall Galleries.
In effect it's reverted to its normal slot.
It's usually held across all three galleries due to its size (485 artworks exhibited in 2019 - including a special exhibition for the RBA Star Students from schools and colleges across the country)
- Opens on Thursday 20 February 2020
- Open to the public every day from 10am - 5pm (except the last day)
- Closes at 5pm on Saturday 29 February 2020.
- The Private View will be on Wednesday 19th July 2019, 11am – 8pm - with speeches at 6pm.
Prizes & Awards (subject to final confirmation)
This a link to the artworks which won prizes and awards at the Annual Exhibition in 2019.
A variety of Prizes and Awards are on offer. These include:
Cash Prizes
- The De Laszlo Foundation Medal for Excellence and £1,500 will be awarded for the best artwork from life by an artist aged 35 or under
- The Patron's Prize: £500
- The Surgeon's Prize: £500
- The Gordon Hulson Memorial Prize: £250 for draughtsmanship, variety & exploration
- The Stuart Southall Print Prize: £250
- The Nathan David Award for Sculpture: £150
Publication Awards
- The Artist Magazine Award: The winner will be interviewed in The Artist magazine, print and digital editions
- The Dry Red Press Award: The winning work will be published as a greeting card in the Dry Red Press 'Prize Winners' range, with royalties from the sale of the cards going to the artist
Art Materials & Other Awards
- The Winsor & Newton Painting Award: Art materials to the value of £500
- The Michael Harding Awards: Two awards of £500 worth of Michael Harding art materials
- Hahnemuhle Fine Art UK Award: A prize of artist paper, worth £250
- Frinton Frames Award: £200 of picture framing at Frinton Frames bespoke hand-finished picture frame makers
Education Awards
- The London Atelier of Representational Art (LARA) Prize for a Young Artist: Free short course in London
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| Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists 2019 - some of the artworks in the North Gallery |
While there is a some variation in quality between artworks - with some outstanding pieces - the overall standard of the exhibition is good to very good. The RBA continues to maintain its improvement in exhibition standards of recent years
Submitting an Entry
Artists are invited to submit entries via the open entry to this juried exhibition of work by members of the Royal Society of British Artists.
RECOMMENDED: This is an OPEN exhibition worth entering.
In the main exhibition, the split between members and open entries is respectable.
- 316 works (65%) are by Members of the RBA
Which means around 9.3% of the artwork submitted via the Open Entry was selected for the Annual Exhibition. Review - Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019
- 169 artworks (35%) were selected from the Open Entry - out of c.1800 submissions - which is an increase from the 127 selected in 2017. Numbers are going in the right direction.
Who can submit
- Any artist over 18 may submit - including artists who do not live or work in the UK.
What can you submit?
- Acceptable media: Any medium including sculpture and original prints.
- Age of artwork: no requirement
- No. of artworks: up to six - of which up to four will be selected
- Previous exhibitions: Work must not have been exhibited previously. I'm a big fan of art societies who refuse to allow people to exhibit work they have previously exhibited elsewhere - it makes for a better exhibition of work which is fresh to the eye.
- Dry: Paintings should be completely dry at the time of delivery (or they won't be hung)
- Size: Works should not be larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.
- For Sale: All work must be for sale
- Price: The minimum price is £300 (framed prints: £180, unframed prints: £120).
One odd thing I noticed is that it's a bit of a cats and dogs exhibition - I spied many more cats and dogs than I normally do - and they seem (as I also note at the RA Summer Exhibition - to be very popular!) Review - Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019You can see the range of artwork submitted in my reviews of previous exhibitions - listed at the end of this blog post.
TIP: Do NOT be silly or over ambitious about prices - especially if you are unfamiliar with sales at this venue.
- small works priced between £300 and £500 typically sell well (i.e. a much high percentage in this price bracket will sell compared to others - because they are more affordable)
- most works sell below £1,000
- members sell well between £500 and £1,500
- if you are pricing above £2,000 you are
- either a well known artist with some years experience and a credible track record of sales above this price point
- or you have a very big ego and/or opinion of your own work and/or lack experience in exhibiting/selling your work
- never ever price just above the big price point breaks (£500, £1000, £1,500) - always just below!
I don't think I can make it plainer than that!
How to Submit
How to enter
- Digital Entries ONLY: All entries are online - using digital images.
- Digital image of an artwork must be in JPEG format and under 5MB
- (You cannot bring your artwork to London to enter)
- Upload images of work at mallgalleries.oess1.uk between Monday 30 September and Friday 29 November 2019, 12 noon
- Physical Submission: Artists whose work passed digital preselection will be told about the Receiving Day and how to submit the artwork for the second stage (final) selection via the Pre-selection notification
- Entry fee per artwork: payable at the time of submitting / includes free entry for the artist to the exhibition (normally £4).
- Artists aged over 35: £18
- Younger Artists aged 35 or under: £12
- For full terms and conditions, click here
Timeline - submission to exhibition
- Submission closes: Friday 29 November 2019, 12 noon
- Pre-selection notification: Friday 6 December 2019, from 12 noon
- Receiving Day (Final Selection): Saturday 11 January 2020, 10am to 5pm (Deliver artwork to Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD)
- Acceptance notification: Tuesday 14 January 2020, from 12 noon
- Collection of unaccepted work: Thursday 16 January, 10am to 5pm
- Exhibition open: 20th - 29th February 2020
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| Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists 2019 - view of the Threadneedle Space |
International Artists - Information about VAT and delivery/storage
HMRC define you as an overseas seller if you sell goods stored in the UK to UK consumers and do not have a business establishment in the UK. In this instance the Mall Galleries acts as your agent.
Those submitting from outside the UK must decide
- whether they need to register for VAT in advance (see Overseas business and VAT)
- engage an art carrier to deliver their work
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibitions
These are my previous reviews of the annual exhibition
- 2019: Review - Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019
- 2018: Review 301st Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists
- 2017: 300th Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists
- 2016: Review of the 299th Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists
- 2015: Royal Society of British Artists 2015 - Annual Exhibition
- 2013: Review: Royal Society of British Artists - 296th Annual Exhibition
- 2012: RBA 2012: An exhibition of Middle England?
