Dallas artist Amy Werntz is among the 10 finalists named for the $50,000 Bennett Prize, an annual award granted to women artists working in figurative realistic painting.
Launched in 2018 by San Antonio art collectors Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melottie Schmidt, the Bennett Prize is the largest prize offered solely to women painters. The winner receives $25,000 for two consecutive years. Previous winners include Aneka Ingold, Ayana Ross, and Shiqing Deng. Last year, the inaugural Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt Prize for Achievement in Figurative Realism, a prize of $10,000, was awarded to one of the finalists.
The prize website explains the need for the award stating, “Museums and galleries present far fewer exhibitions of art by women, have fewer pieces by women in their collections, and, when women’s pieces are collected, they generally sell for less than works by male artists. Over the course of time, figurative realism has fallen out of favor in many art schools and universities.”
This year’s finalists were selected by a jury that included Angela Fraleigh, artist, educator, and 2003-2005 Core Program Alumnus; Gloria Groom, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago; Margaret Bowland, artist and faculty member at the New York Academy of Art; and Ms. Schmidt, The Bennett Prize co-founder. See the full list of finalists below.
Amy Werntz
Ms. Werntz, who was previously a finalist for The Bennett Prize 2 (2021), is a painter and interior designer who holds a BFA in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Dallas. Her work often depicts older subjects engaged in everyday moments. On her website, Ms. Werntz explains, “I strive to show the importance and value of this generation so often overlooked in our society by the lure of youth. When you are young you live with the face you are given; when you are old you live with the face you have made.”
Amy Werntz, “Carlyla.”
The Bennett Prize 4 winner will be announced on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at the Muskegon Museum of Art, where the finalists works will be on view through August 24, 2025.
Learn more about The Bennett Prize via its website.
The Bennett Prize 4 Finalists
Olivia Chigas (New York, New York)
Nimah Gobir (Oakland, California)
Ambrin Ling (Salem, Oregon)
Jane Philips (Brooklyn, New York)
Audrey Rodriguez (Brooklyn, New York)
Abbey Rosko (New Tripoli, Pennsylvania)
Nicole M. Santiago (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Amy Werntz (Dallas, Texas)
Helena Wurzel (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Rei Xiao (Brooklyn, New York)
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