Call for Entries: 6th Triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022

A call for entries for the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 was published a little while ago. This is the 6th time this triennial competition and exhibition has been run.

In brief:

• This is a very prestigious portrait competition - which happens every three years
• The intention of the competition is that it should reflect American Portraiture today.
• Consequently entries are limited to one only from adult portrait painters living and working in the United States and associated territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
• the timeline is somewhat drawn out
• the deadline for entries is January 29, 2021

Note: The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition is made possible by the Virginia Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Endowment, established by Virginia Outwin Boochever and continued by her children.

Call for Entries

In limiting entries to Americans, it also seeks to provide a pointer as to intent.

What I very much like about this competition is its aim of engaging contemporary portraiture with the social and political landscape of the United States - and making it relevant to current times. Which should make for an interesting batch of entries given recent events and upcoming changes. contemporary 

Artists are invited to submit portraits in any media for consideration in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. As with past editions, the competition seeks to broaden the definition of portraiture and highlight the genre’s relevance in society and contemporary art.

There are two important points to note. The last competition changed the rules - presumably to open up scope for contemporary portraiture which provides social commentary with a historical perspective

Artworks may originate from direct encounters between the artist and the sitter or draw upon existing imagery or archival research in response to history.

Next a clear intent as to the scope of the competition - and hence the entries

Artists are encouraged to think about portraiture's potential to engage with the social and political landscape of our time.

Prizes

The awards on offer total $42,000 (£31,250) and are as follows:

• First Prize: $25,000 and a commission to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. (Here are the last four commissions - one of which has become very famous i.e. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama by Amy Sherald)
• Second Prize: $7,500
• Third Prize: $5,000. 
• People's Choice Award: $500
• Commendations: Up to four additional artists will be commended for their work and will receive $1,000 each. 

Jurors

The Jurors are as follows

The Jurors of Outwin 2022

Who can submit a portrait?

Don't even think about entering this competition unless you are an artist who is 

• at least 18 years old (by the time of entry) 
• lives and works in one of: the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What can you submit?

The constraints on entries are as follows:

• Each artist may enter only one artwork.
• Eligible Media: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, textiles, video, performance art, and digital or time-based art. 
• Date of completion: Works must be recent i.e. completed after 1 January of the year of the last competition. (i.e. after 1st January 2019).
• Size and presentation restrictions:
• 2-D work: overall dimensions should not exceed 7 ft. (height) x 7 ft. (width) x 8 in. (depth) (including frame); overall weight should not exceed 150 lbs.
• All 2-D works must be framed. Works on paper (including photographs) need UV filtering acrylic (e.g., Plexiglas), and pastels and charcoals need UV filtering anti-static acrylic, non-reflective glazing preferred. Paintings can have strip frames.
• 3-D work: overall dimensions should not exceed 7 ft. (height) x 7 ft. x 4 ft.; overall weight should not exceed 150 lbs.
• Any physical element accompanying a performance work may not exceed the parameters provided for 2-D and 3-D works.

You can see all the entries selected for exhibition in 2019 on the website

Conditions of submission

There are various conditions. Some of the more important are as follows

• Term of Loan: those whose work gets selected for exhibition must consent to its loan for the entirety of the time the exhibition is on view 
• Copyright: in short artists must grant to the Portrait Gallery the irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right to use and reproduce all exhibited works - for a variety of purposes
• Sales: Work entered into the competition may not be sold at any time during the competition, subsequent exhibition, or the national tour.

Those entering other art competitions may be sat with mouths wide open - given the media and sizes allowed for contemporary portraiture elsewhere. 

Works which are ineligible: 

• any works completed BEFORE January 1, 2019, will be disqualified.
• any works which exceed the size restrictions are not eligible for consideration (see above)

How to Enter

• This is the downloadable version of the Rules of Entry - which need to be read and reviewed before an entry is submitted
• Detailed requirements in relation to each media are available online
• Submissions must be made online. A portal link will be provided through our Call for Entries.
• Up to two images of the artwork can be submitted.  Detailed requirements as to digital file type, dimensions and size and colour profile are available on the website
• There is a nonrefundable registration fee of *$50.
• Submissions close at at 11:59 pm midnight MOUNTAIN TIME (Denver, CO) on January 29, 2021

*The processing fee helps to cover the shipping costs from all eligible locations for the semifinalists' artworks to be evaluated in-person. We understand that these are challenging times and aim to make this competition as equitable as possible. If you are having difficulties meeting this fee, please contact us at portraitcompetition@si.edu.

You also need to

• Create a CaFÉ™ account
• Upload work samples into your CaFÉ™ Portfolio
• via the relevant submission site

 

Other things you need to know

• The artwork is collected from one address and returned to the same address after the exhibition is over.
• the artist is responsible for insurance getting it to the Smithsonian - thereafter while in the custody of the Portrait Gallery, artwork will be insured under the Smithsonian policy. 

Timeline

• October 5, 2020 to January 29, 2021 - Call for Entries for 2022 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition
• Spring 2021 - 2022 semifinalists notified; loans sent and preparation to bring works to Washington, DC begins
• Late Summer 2021 - 2022 semifinalists artwork shipped to Washington, DC
• Fall 2021 - 2022 finalists notified; begin return of non-finalist works
• April 30, 2022 – February 26, 2023 - The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today at the National Portrait Gallery
• Spring 2023–Summer 2024 - The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today on national tour

Tour Schedule

All finalists’ works will form a major exhibition that will be on view at the Portrait Gallery from April 30, 2022, through February 26, 2023, with plans for a subsequent national tour.

Previous posts about the Outwin

• Hugo Crosthwaite wins 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition with an animation - includes details and images of prizewinners and details and location of selected artists
• Call for Entries: 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition
• The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2016 - 
• Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2013 - Prizewinners and Selected artists