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Monday, October 27, 2025

Entries for PASTEL SOCIETY's 127th Annual Exhibition 2026 - closing soon

You have just under three weeks left to get a submission into the Annual Exhibition 2026 of The Pastel Society.


I've been trying to get round to this post for a while, which makes it much later than usual. However you still have time to start and finish a new work, or review what you did last year that you are proud of and submit that to the exhibition.

Benefits of Exhibiting with The Pastel Society


This is an OPEN ART EXHIBITION. If you submit and are selected for the exhibition your artwork will be
  • included in the catalogue
  • seen by visitors to the Mall Galleries - and it gets a lot of visitors
  • viewed online via the Mall Galleries website and that of the Pastel Society - before, during and after the Exhibition
  • eligible for a number of prizes & awards - and some have significant cash awards (see below)

Pastel Society | Annual Exhibition 2026 | Key Facts

What drew me to the Pastel Society was the thought of being surrounding by other people fascinated by dry media in particular
Curtis Holder
Venue: Mall Galleries, The Mall, LondonDates:
Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 21st January - Saturday 7th February 2026
Private View (invite only): Tuesday 20th January 2026 - 5pm to 8pm, official opening at 6:30pm

Submissions: ONLINE ONLY and open until 12 noon Friday 14 November 2025
Notification of selection: Friday 28th November 2025, 12 noon
Receiving Day (if selected): Saturday 10th January 2026, 10am to 5pm
Collection of unsold work: Thursday 12 February 202610am to 5pm
Awards and Prizes - see listing near the end of this post


Call for Entries

Find out more about how to enter:


Who is eligible to enter?

  • This is an OPEN exhibition and is not limited to work by members.
  • There is also no restriction of where you live. It's open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU
  • Any artist over 18 may submit.

What media is acceptable for entries?

  • All types of pastel including: soft pastel, hard pastel, oil pastel, ink pastel, water-based pastel, conté crayons or sticks, sanguine, and other dry mediums that are similar in their application including charcoal, chalk, and pencil.
  • Mixed media and three-dimensional works are welcome where pastel or another dry media is the primary medium.
  • HOWEVER.....
ALL work that is submitted must have a full description of the media used and any process which has been employed in the finished work beyond drawing and painting, e.g. printing, photography. 

Please note that failure to do this may result in unnecessary rejection on the grounds that work deserves to be judged on a like for like basis and because any buyer should be made aware of what they are buying.
Bottom line - no sleight of hand! This exhibition emphasises the use of dry media and the expertise of the artist in using it.
 

What can you enter?


  • Dimensions: Works should be no larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.
  • Maximum of six works each BUT only a maximum of four works per artist may be selected.
  • Work MUST 
    • be an original creation by the artist (i.e. copyright belongs to the artist and not to some artwork or entity you may have copied)
    • have been completed within two years prior to the exhibition and
    • not have been exhibited previously at Mall Galleries (in any exhibition)

- and want to keep up with my reviews
and get an email to your inbox every time I publish

All work must be for sale.


The price should be the price on the wall at which the work will be sold and MUST INCLUDE provision for commission and VAT
  • No-VAT Registered Artists: 
    • the selling price MUST BE INCLUSIVE OF commission payable to Mall Galleries of 45% 
    • + VAT of 20% on the 45% commission
  • if the artist is registered for VAT, then 
    • the sale price must also INCLUDE the VAT of 20% on the sale charged by the artist
    • the commission is 45% on the sale price LESS THE VAT PAYABLE BY THE ARTIST
The price of works must include commission of 45% +VAT. If an artist is registered for VAT, then the VAT due on the selling price of works should be included in the price submitted. MAll Galleries | Call for Entries

Note also the detailed terms and conditions of sale i.e. 
  • Once work has been submitted, any sale made by the gallery before or during the course of the exhibition up to and including the collection day shall take precedence and supersede one made privately. Any private sale made in this period will incur the normal commission.
  • Unless otherwise advised, the gallery will charge a commission on the total price paid for works, including commissioned works, before, during, or as a result of the exhibition.
  • Mall Galleries reserves the right to query the price of works.
  • The price of works may only be changed by written agreement between the artist and Mall Galleries.

TIP: The REAL COST of your submission 


....entirely depends on:
  • how good your work is;
  • how discriminating you are at submitting works with a good chance of being exhibited - 
    • and if you have not seen the exhibition in person I recommend you check out my posts at the end about past exhibitions
  • how much you want to become a member of this society
  • Whether you've done your homework on the full costs of entry - including commission, VAT on the sale + VAT on the commission
  • whether you've reviewed the available data (in my charts and posts) about typical price ranges and levels of sales.

How do you enter?


  • Register or log in to our Open Exhibition Submission System (OESS) to submit before Friday 14 November 2025
  • Upload your image/s in JPEG or PNG format and under 5MB. 
    • One image per submission must be submitted, showing the complete work. 
    • An optional two additional images per work may be submitted, showing details.
  • The judges will make their decision based on these images, so please ensure that photographs are accurate and show work at its best.

What does it cost to enter?


  • There is a non-refundable submission fee - which includes FREE admission to the exhibition (normally £6):
    • £20 per work
    • however this is reduced to £14 per work for artists aged 35 or under.
  • I must confess I've never heard of an artist being charged to enter an exhibition that they've got an artwork in. Friends, family and hangers on of course must pay - but the artist? Did this really use to happen?

How are works selected


The works for exhibition are selected by a committee formed of members of the Society. 
The selection will be made entirely online and so the image of the work must be representative of the original work to ensure that a fair selection has been made.


If selected from the digital entry, how must an artwork be presented for hanging?


  • All work MUST be framed and glazed with picture glass
  • UNLESS a dispensation is applied for and accepted by the Society and Mall Galleries in special circumstances.
  • Frames must be capable of being mirror plated with 12mm (size 6 screws) (see my blog post How to hang a painting - using mirror plates. This explains what will happen to attach your frame to the wall. Do NOT attach your own mirror plates.)
  • Frames should be plain and simple.
  • Metal frames, unprotected glass edges and clip frames are inadmissible.
  • All fittings and fixings MUST be removed from the back of frames, e.g. D-rings and picture wire.

How to deliver artwork - ONLY for those who art is pre-selected online


There will be a sign to show you
where to go!
ONLY If pre-selected from the online submission for hanging, artwork should be delivered
  • to the gallery's rear entrance at Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD (down the spiral staircase to the basement)
  • unwrapped with the relevant form and labels, which are downloadable upon notification of selection.
  • AND all packaging must be taken away at the point of delivery.
The information about how to enter includes a list of couriers who regularly deliver artwork to the Mall Galleries.

You need to pick one who will unwrap your artwork for delivery, retain the packaging and wrap and return it to you if not sold.

You can also view my review of art couriers on this page UK & Ireland Art Movers & Couriers & Fine Art Transport Services of my Art Business Info. for Artists website


FINAL TIPS for potential entrants


ESSENTIAL Read the FULL terms and conditions for entry on the Mall Galleries website carefully


Application process

  • Don't leave registration and uploading your image to the last minute.
  • Measure your work precisely
  • Make sure the framed size does not render the work ineligible.

Pricing

  • Smaller works priced around £500 or less sell more easily (i.e. impulse buy)
    • there is a minimum price of £400.  (Personally I think this is too hight for very small works they could go lower still.)
  • Inexperienced artists - who are ignorant of market prices - very often overprice - which can make exhibiting art a very expensive hobby.
  • More affordable art is more likely to sell - particularly at times when there is a cost of living crisis. Most non-members' paintings sell for less than £1,000
  • Few non-oil paintings sell for more than £2,000 at the Mall Galleries
    • UNLESS you already have a VERY strong following for pricing above £2K and/or create excellent large pastels
This is a chart of the sales at the  Open Exhibition 2025 of the Pastel Society which clearly indicatesI got my numbers by going through the data on sales available from the online exhibition.

Analysis of the number of artworks sold by price range
in The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2025

FOR ALL Non UK ARTISTS 

(known as 'NETPs' - non-established taxable persons)


If you live outside the UK and your work is sold at the exhibition you have a LEGAL responsibility to register and account for UK VAT with H.M. Revenue & Customs at www.hmrc.gov.uk (HM Revenue & Customs Reference: Notice 700/1)
  • Make sure you read the conditions about VAT very carefully. You should address any questions you may have to the VAT Helpline on tel. no. 0300 200 3700 or Outside UK: +44 2920 501 261.
  • Please note: the registration process can take up to 4 weeks so you're probably already too late!
  • Do NOT think you can get away with skipping registration if it applies to you! This is both law and tax and this condition is NOT flexible! Your work will be stuck in Customs and not exhibited
  • If you use a picture carrier - make sure framed work can be submitted UNWRAPPED and collected, wrapped and returned to you (if unsold).

Prizes and Awards 2026


I've discovered recently that different art societies take quite different approaches to their prizes and awards,

The Pastel Society has LOTS of prizes and awards, with a variety of benefits if you win one.  See below for more details - plus their website. These are presented at the Private View.

Monetary Prizes

  • Anthony J Lester Art Critic Award - (cheque + certificate)
  • Bob Last Prize - (Cheque)
  • Yoshimoto Award - (Cheque)
  • Caran d’Ache Special Prize 2026 (£1.000)
  • Pastel Society Prize (£1,000)
  • President’s Prize (£500) Young Artist Award

Art Product Prizes / Tokens

  • Caran d’Ache Award - (Product)
  • Frank Herring Award - (Product)
  • Mamut Award - (Product)
  • Pith Award - (Product)
  • Unison Pastel Award - Member (Product)
  • Unison Pastel Award - Non- Member (Product)
  • Unison Pastel Award - Young Artist (Product)
  • UART Award - (Product)
  • West Design Award - (Product)
  • Henri Roché Award - (Token)

Publication Awards

  • PS Catalogue Award 1st Prize
  • PS Catalogue Award 2nd Prize
  • Painters Online Award - (Interview to be published in the Artist section of Leisure Painter and Artist)

Exhibition Award

  • Visitors’ Choice Award

Studio Award

  • The Studio Prize x 2 - Sponsored by Hillview Studio ( I can't find any info about what this is)

Past posts about Pastel Society Exhibitions


Below you can review previous posts about Pastel Society exhibitions - from my archives.
As you can see I've reviewed this exhibition every year since 2006!
on

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