Only 10 paintings sold?

The 159th Annual International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society has finished at the Salmagundi Club. Some statistics - one jumped out to me (in red):

• 3,300 visitors 
• during the exhibition which ran for 3.5 weeks from April 7 – May 1
• $54,000 in awards, and 
• ONLY 10 PAINTINGS SOLD! 
• That means 
• only 0.3% of the visitors wanted to buy a painting!
• only c.6% of artists sold a painting

Facebook Post by AWS

You can find the names of the exhibited artists here (both AWS members and those selected from the open entry.)

These are the Award Winners. Paintings selected for awards can be viewed here.

Thirty-nine awards totaling over $54,000 were selected this year by the 159th Exhibiton Jury of Awards.

The only images online are those of award winners. They do not contain any details about size, materials or price.

Critique 

When art societies were first formed, the major reason was to share the costs of exhibitions of artwork so that artists could get their artwork in front of more people and stand a better chance of selling it.

It wasn't about showing off. It was about financing the artist to make money to enable them to continue being an artist. That's still - or should be - one of the primary reasons why artists exhibit today.

If an annual international exhibition by the one of the oldest and most prestigious watercolour societies in America can only sell 10 paintings then something they are doing is wrong!

AWS Facebook Page

Context

First, by way of comparison I'm going to highlight the number and percentage of sales of artwork exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours last three annual exhibitions at the Mall Galleries (a large gallery supporting national societies of artists in the centre of London - accessible to fans, tourists and people walking up the Mall to/from Buckingham Palace)

As you can see, the RI have significantly more sales both in terms of actual paintings and percentage sold.

VIDEO demonstrations by members of the American Watercolor Society

For those making lists of "things to watch" over the Seasonal Break, I have a list of videos for watercolour artists - and those interested in how watercolour paintings are created.

I've just discovered that the American Watercolor Society has some "free to air" hour long videos of AWS members giving a demonstration and talk on the AWS Watercolor Evenings which are "a highlight of each International Exhibition".  They're held in the room at the Salmagundi Club in New York where they hold their International Exhibition each year. (Note: The Salmagundi Club was created in 1871 and is one of the oldest arts organisations in the USA)

AWS Demonstrations on YouTube: Lots of useful tips

You can find links to all the demonstrations on the website under Demos. Whether or not you like the American style of watercolour, these are people who have been painting for a long time and have lots of useful tips!

Do also bear in mind these are paintings produced in an hour while delivering a talk!

I've included links to the artists' websites in their names - so you can go and take a look at more considered and finished paintings

• 2024:  “Painting Beyond Technique” with Antonio Masi, AWS, DF. 
• View here.
• you can find a summary of the talk in the newsletter
• Antonio Masi is a multi award winning artist who is the current President of the AWS and became President in 2017.
• 2023: “Reflections on Urban Landscapes” with John Salminen, AWS, DF. 
• View here.
• This one has had over 200k views so far
• He is a much exhibited artist who has many awards.
• 2022 “Watercolor from Within” with Barbara Nechis, AWS. 
• View here. It's had 89k views to date
• Past Faculty Member of the Pratt Institute who has taught all over the US.
• 2021 “Creating Drama” with Tim Saternow, AWS. 
• View here

He paints large architectural landscape watercolors with a thick use of watercolor paint, playing with the tension between the illusions of depth, carefully drawn linear perspective, and an obvious play on the surface of the paper through watermarks, paint runs, blooms and spatters. (From Tim's website)

• 2019 “Finding Beauty in Places Often Overlooked” with James Maria, AWS. 
• View here.
• He likes to paint all the various different textures in left behind half forgotten places.
• 2018 Evening I “In a Fog – Capturing the Elusive Feeling of Misty Weather” with Joel Popadics, AWS. 
• View here. (30 minutes video)
• Joel has received numerous national awards - and loves painting fog!
• 2018 Evening II “Loosen Up! – Breaking Away from Seeing and Painting Too Many Details” with Andy Evansen, AWS. 
• View here. (30 minutes video)
• Interesting to see who has inspired him....

Choosing a ‘style’ was not difficult, as Andy was always inspired by the watercolor paintings of British artists Trevor Chamberlain, David Curtis, Ed Seago and Edward Wesson, among others.

AWS International Exhibitions

Every year, the AWS holds a juried exhibition of watercolors from artists throughout the world and some UK watercolourists have done well there. Notably Angus McEwan.

View submission information on the upcoming 2025 Exhibition here.

Although please note the deadline has passed because....

The artists selected for the 158th International Exhibition in 2025 have been recently announced and you can find the list of names of those selected here