From life : 10th oil portrait sketching competition
Date
Location
parlor, skylight, & Hartley gallery
Admission
$45 | Salmagundi members discounted price
Tickets available only online; will not be sold at the door.
Schedule of Events
10:00 AM | Competition begins
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM | Lunch break
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Jurying / Group photo / Pizza!
4:00 PM | Winners announcement
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Viewing for the general public
Artist Eligibility
All schools of art, ateliers, academies, and artists national and international are eligible. Limited to 50 artists.
Note
Sponsors
Alexander Katlan (Organizer)
Private foundation
A Live Competition
This will be a one-day on-site competition, in which artists work from life. Registration is available on a first-come first-serve basis. Free parking is available on the streets of New York City on this date.
Prizes
$4,500 in cash prizes awarded:
1st Prize | $3,000 + Chelsea Classical Studio Fine Art Materials certificate + $300 Kurian Frames gift certificate
Purchase prize | The painting will enter the Salmagundi Club permanent art collection, subject to SCNY Board of Directors’ approval.
2nd Prize | $1,000 + Chelsea Classical Studio Fine Art Materials certificate + $200 Kurian Frames gift certificate
3rd Prize | $500 + Chelsea Classical Studio Fine Art Materials certificate + $100 Kurian Frames gift certificate
It is through the generosity of Chelsea Classical Studio Fine Art Materials and Kurian Frames that we are able to provide art materials for all three prizes.
Medium Limitations
The paintings should be done in oil. No turpentine is allowed; only odorless mineral spirits or non-toxic, odorless turpentine substitute. No painting can be larger than 16” x 20”.
Judging
This competition will follow a blind judging process, which requires artists to not put a signature on their painting. If a signature is found, the artwork will be disqualified from consideration. Artists may choose to be omitted from being judged for prizes, if they so choose.
Easels
Easels are limited; up to 12 available for +$10
Artists must add the Easel add-on when purchasing their ticket. If easels are no longer available, Alexander Katlan may be contacted prior to the event to be added to the waitlist. You may bring a clip light to add to your easel, if you so choose.
Models
Five models will be participating in three different galleries. 10 to 15 artists will work around each model, thus maintaining the 6 foot separation needed for the safety of the models, participants, and assistants. The models may have a hat or drapery for the portrait.
Each model will hold a single pose for five hours (breaking every 20 minutes for 5 minutes). Work from highly experienced models from the New York Metropolitan art scene.
Painting Spots
Upon entering the skylight gallery, each artist will draw a lottery number and proceed to the easel spot and model assigned to that number. Easel locations may not be changed or traded.
Special Thank you
Special thanks to the following for their assistance:
- Carole Teller
- Anish Souri
- Tahseen Ali Kahn
- Michael Fetherston
- Roger Rossi
- Anthony Bellov
- Roberta Belulovich
- Joel Moskowitz
Panel of Jurors
Two distinguished artists of the New York Metropolitan art scene will serve as jurors:
Lucas Bononi
Lucas Bononi is a contemporary painter based in New York. Trained in expressionism at the Academy of Art University San Francisco, where he earned his BFA in painting, and in naturalism at Grand Central Atelier, he now teaches its core program. Bononi’s paintings intricately weave the human form with elements of nature, using nuanced color and light to create a marbling effect that blends flesh with natural landscapes—rivers, forests, and fires. This interplay aims to reconnect viewers with our primal origins, urging a reverence for the unique beauty of nature.
Edmond Rochat
Edmond Rochat, studied painting, drawing, and sculpture at DuCret School of Art, The Art Students League of New York, and Janus Collaborative School of Art. He supplemented his studies as a lab assistant for advanced artistic anatomy offered by Janus Collaborative School of Art and hosted by Drexel University School of Medicine. He was also awarded a grant from the John F. and Anne Lee Stacey Scholarship Fund, which he used to study Greek and Renaissance sculpture at the Slater Memorial museum.