OPEN EXHIBITION 2025 REMINDER #1: (Mall Galleries)

I'm publishing a list of summaries of ALL the current Calls for Entries for Open Exhibitions by the National Art Societies in the UK and Ireland which have been published to date.

#1 TODAY: I'm publishing the first half of the list - about the national art societies based at the Mall Galleries who have exhibitions in the period January - June 2025.

#2 TOMORROW: I'm going to show you how well non members do at selling artwork at some of the Mall Galleries exhibitions IF:

1. they get selected
2. they price their work correctly
3. You may be very surprised! I'll be speculating on the reasons why....

#3 TUESDAY: I'll publish the second half of my list - of other national art societies and major art competitions.

Calls for Entries by FBA Societies 

Being exhibited in an important national exhibition is an excellent way of marketing yourself and your art. I've seen a lot of amateur artists develop into professional artists and become officers of leading national art societies in the nearly 20 years that I've been writing this blog. 

However, I've been remiss about writing Calls for Entries posts of late - so this is by way of making up for this.

Below are SUMMARIES of various Calls for Entries by Annual Exhibitions by all the national art societies which are members of the Federation of British Artists. 

• Their exhibitions are all held at the Mall Galleries 
• They are all holding exhibitions in the period January - June 2025
• This is the page where you can find all the Open Calls for Entries 

(Note: not all who hold exhibitions at the Mall Galleries are members of the FBA)

My summaries are NEVER a substitute for you reading ALL the Terms and Conditions of Entries very carefully. I've provided links to where you can read these below.

• You can get selected and then not hung if you mess up. 
• Pay particular attention to 
• delivering artwork and its presentation for exhibition and 
• VAT before entering or pricing. (see note at end)

Royal Society of British Artists

Royal Society of British Artists
 Open Call for Entries - Annual Exhibition 2025

• Website: https://www.therba.org/
• Call for Entries: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/royal-society-british-artists
• Deadline for Entries: Wednesday 8 January 2025
• Exhibition: 26 February - 8 March 2025
• Venue: Mall Galleries
• Who can enter: Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
• What can you enter:  
• Painting, sculpture, drawing and original prints.
• nothing larger than 2.4m (longest dimension)
• all work must be for sale
• NOT previously exhibited in London
• original creation of the artist
• Pricing: 
• minimum price of £300 
• Prints only – framed £180, unframed £120
• 45% commission + VAT charged on all sales
• Entry Fee: 
• non-refundable submission fee of £20 per work 
• £14 per work for any artists aged 35 or under

Reasons to enter:

• lots of prizes - many of which are awarded to open artists
• RBA has a strong commitment to favouring the development of young artists

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours | 213th Exhibition 2025

J.M.W Turner and The Vaughan Bequest

Every January you can see watercolour paintings by JMW Turner for free at:

• the Scottish National Gallery - Turner in January 1-31 January 2020
• Print Gallery, The National Gallery of Ireland - Turner the Visionary 1-31 January 2020 - 31 watercolours and drawings by J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851)

J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), The Doge's Palace and Piazzetta, Venice, c.1840.
Image © National Gallery of Ireland

This is due to The Vaughan Bequest. The paintings and sketches were bequeathed to the Galleries in 1900 by an English collector Henry Vaughan (1809–99) - see below

The Vaughan Bequest at the National Gallery of Ireland is a representative collection of Turner’s work on paper. Highly finished works, engraved for various print series, hang alongside evocative sketches from his annual tours of Switzerland and Italy. This collection, tracing the artist’s development, reveals his experimental style and enthusiasm for landscape.

Two paintings by Turner of Edinburgh
(left) Joseph Mallord William Turner Edinburgh from Calton Hill about 1819
(right) Joseph Mallord William Turner Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh about 1819

In this video, Charlotte Topsfield, Senior Curator of British Drawings and Prints at the Scottish National Gallery, discusses the work of JMW Turner and his connections to Scotland.

The Vaughan Bequest 

Most people think that most of JMW Turner's artwork forms part of the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain. This at the time (and since) was was the largest ever donation of works of art to the National Gallery. It includes around 30,000 sketches and watercolours, including 300 sketchbooks.

However a considerable number of watercolours also reside at the National Galleries in Scotland and Ireland due to Henry Vaughan (1809-1899) a bachelor and generous Victorian collector of art.

Vaughan's father has carried on a successful business as a hat manufacturer in Southwark and in due course made a fortune. This allowed Vaughan to indulge his love of watercolours. He met Turner in the 1840s and over time he developed a large collection of watercolour drawings, sketches and paintings by Turner which covered his entire career as an artist. When Vaughan died in 1899 he split the collection of Turner Watercolours in his collection and left them to the National Galleries of Scotland and Ireland and a number of other museums and galleries across Britain.

The reason why the exhibition are held in January is because Vaughan was aware of the need to protect watercolours from the damage which can be caused to both paint and paper by too much exposure to light.

Hence his will stipulated that the watercolours be ‘exhibited to the public all at one time free of charge during the month of January’.  At all other times the watercolours are to be kept accessible to viewers.

SEE AND READ MORE about Turner's Watercolours 

Where you can see Turner's artwork

The Turner Society maintains a list of all the larger collections in public museums and galleries throughout the world

In Tate Britain a selection of Turner watercolours is always on view but it must be stressed that other galleries do not usually have their Turner watercolours and prints on display. Appointments to see them should always be made in advance in order to avoid disappointment.

In the UK, these include:

• The British Museum in London 
• Tate Britain in London (which houses almost all the Turner Bequest: including over 20,000 watercolours and drawings - many of the latter contained in the 300 or so sketchbooks)
• The National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin (36 watercolours and drawings)
• The National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh (
• The National Museum of Wales in Cardiff (17 watercolours)
• The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (c. 100 Turner watercolours and drawings - mainly from the Ruskin Bequest) - the Ashmolean has only recently started to digitize its collection and the quality of the digital images is excellent.

Examples of Turner Watercolours in the Ashmolean's Online Collection

• The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (55+ watercolours by Turner - mostly from the Ruskin Bequest)
• The Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester (50 watercolours) - which you can also view online

Examples of Turner Watercolours in the Whitworth Gallery's Online Catalogue

In the USA, these include:

• Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut (a large number of watercolours)
• Indianapolis Museum of Art (the second largest collection in the USA of Turner watercolours, drawings and prints, - mostly from the collection of Kurt Pantzer (1892–1979). 

Articles about The Vaughan Bequest collections

• The Vaughan Bequest | National Gallery of Ireland
• JMW Turner inc. Turner in Scotland | National Gallery Scotland
• Northern light: Turner watercolours in midwinter | BBC
• January: annual display of Turner Watercolours in Ireland and Scotland | Tuner in Tottenham

A Botanical Art Bonaza - in England, Scotland and Ireland

Making A Mark has been quiet for the past week because I've been diligently writing blog posts about juried open botanical art exhibitions opening in England, Scotland and Ireland - at the same time(!) - on my Botanical Art and Artists News blog

Here's a summary - with some pics - of what's going on in London, Edinburgh and Dublin right now!

ENGLAND: Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists (SBA)

the end wall display in the Main Gallery at the Mall Galleries

To date I've written the following posts about "Plantae" the 2019 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists which is an international exhibition with 431 artworks by c.190 botanical artists

It's on at the Mall Galleries until 1pm on Sunday 9th June - with demonstrations of botanical artwork in coloured pencil (today) and painting on vellum (tomorrow).

It's the SBA's first time at the Mall Galleries. Everybody participating and regular visitors are very impressed with the environment and wonderful lighting and how good the artwork looks. Plus the Manager of the Mall Galleries told me on Tuesday night that he knew it was going to be good but it's actually much better!

• Plantae: SBA Annual Exhibition 2019 - Selected Artists profiles most of the c.190 botanical artists whose work was selected for the exhibition - with links to their websites are embedded in their names. (If you're wondering why it's circa it's because it comes out as a different number every time I counted and have up after the third count!)
• Awards - Society of Botanical Artists' Annual Exhibition 2019 - includes information and images of the artwork receiving awards and more information about the artists who created them

Winner of the Joyce Cuming Presentation Plate
The Secret World of Potatoes by Lidiya Doukhnevitch (watercolour £1,500)

Coming up next is

• a post about those artists who were awarded a Certificate of Botanical Merit - which was judged by Lucy T Smith, who illustrates plants for Kew Gardens.  (These are artists who get judged on science as well as art!)
• finally, the fourth post will be a review of the exhibition as a whole and a commentary on its move to the Mall Galleries. I've been asking people what they think about the new environment.

Incidentally, the SBA raised the bar considerably by putting their exhibition catalogue online and including images of ALL the artwork in the show.

SCOTLAND: Annual Exhibition of Botanical Images Scotia (BISCOT)

BISCOT is an acronym for "Botanical Images Scotia". It's annual exhibition of contemporary botanical illustration which

• promotes excellence in botanical painting and illustration.
• gives both national and international artists an opportunity to exhibit in Edinburgh and presents new and original botanical work.

Each exhibitor creates a display of SIX artworks - and the exhibition is open to and attracts international entrants. In this respect BISCOT is the Scottish equivalent of the RHS Botanical Art Show in London - and is regarded as the top show in Scotland in terms of awards and prestige.

The BISCOT Exhibition is held annually at

• Gardening Scotland (sponsored by the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society) (31 May - 2 June)
• the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) - John Hope Gateway (5-20 June 2019)​

Sansanee Deekrajang (Thailand) won a BISCOT Gold Medal and Best in Show for her Exhibit of Tropical Palms

BISCOT Medal Winners 2019 is about those artists who won their medals a week ago at the Annual BISCOT Exhibition at the Gardening Scotland show at the Ingliston Showground in Edinburgh

This week the exhibition transferred to the John Hope Gateway at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) where it continues until the 20th June.

I'll be writing another post about this exhibition as it contains a new category - which is the newly launched RBGE Florilegium (see below)

IRELAND: Annual Botanical and Floral Exhibition at Bloom

Iris “Red Rum”” by Siobhan Larkin
Gold Medal and BEST IN SHOW (BOTANICAL)

Last week Ireland's premier juried botanical art exhibition, the 7th Annual ​​Exhibition of Botanical and Floral Art in Bloom opened at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre in Phoenix Park, Dublin - where it remains until the end of June 2019.

Bloom 2019 - Botanical Art Medal Winners is about the award winners in the botanical art side of the Bloom show. Medals for this show are awarded just for one work.

I'm really hoping that at some point Bloom will upgrade to the same type and standard of exhibition as the RHS and BISCOT which both require exhibits of six paintings by each exhibiting artist - and medal judgements are made about the six paintings as a whole.

But maybe that needs to be a different show - linked to and partnered with a Horticultural Society or Botanic Garden. It will almost certainly need to be in a different venue

Best in Bloom 2015

The medal winners at the 3rd Annual Botanical & Floral Art in Bloom Exhibition at Bloom in Dublin are listed below.

You can also see a great write-up of the exhibition - and more photos - on Shevaun Doherty's blog post Bloom 2015

The links in the artist's names are to their websites or blogs. Some artists have won more than one medal in which case the link is in the name next to the highest ranking medal and not in the others.

Many thanks to Shevaun Doherty for permission to use her photographs.

Botanical Illustration

Best in Show (Botanical Art)
Iris by Siobhan O'Larkin

Best in Show

• Siobhan M Larkin - Iris

Shevaun Doherty and the dates which won a Gold Medal

Gold Medals

• Siobhan M Larkin - Iris
• Shevaun Doherty - Phoenix dactylifera var. khasab Date palm
• Nayana Sandur - Musa acuminata Banana

Silver Gilt Medals

• Holly Somerville - Papaver rhoeas Field poppy
• Jane Stark - Heliamphora hetero-doxa Sun pitcher

Silver Medals

• Shevaun Doherty - Aesculus hippocasta-num triptych
• Nayana Sandur - Malus cultivar Red Apple
• Holly Somerville - Hippeastrum cultivar Amaryllis
• Holly Somerville - Tulipa gesneriana Didier’s tulip
• Patricia Jorgenson - Romneya coulteri Californian tree poppy
• Siobhan M Larkin - Larix decidua (cones)
• Lynn Stringer - Chrysanthemum ‘Salmon Shoesmith

Bronze Medals

• Yanny Petters - Malus Apple
• June Wright - esculus hippocasta- num Horse-chestnut

Floral Art

Yanny Petters artwork which won Best in Show in the Floral Art Section

Best in Show

• Yanny Petters - Meadow Plantain speedwell

Gold Medals

• Yanny Petters - Meadow Plantain speedwell
• Nayana Sandur - Allium aflatunese
• Lynn Stringer - Primula vulgaris

Silver Gilt Medals

• Anne McLeod - Delphiniums
• Lynn Stringer - Narcissus ‘Cheerful- ness’ Narcissi

Silver Medals

• Nicola Lynch Morrin - Iris

Bronze Medals

• Sue van Coppenhagen - Hellebores

I referred in A new botanical art blog and two botanical art shows to the basics of what you need to know to submit work for next year's exhibition. I'll add in the URL and/or the contact person when I find out who this is.