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Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition (2006-), National Portrait Gallery - 6th Triennial Exhibition, The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today, Runs April 30, 2022 - Feb. 26, 2023


Tweaked

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I recommend the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition now up through Feb 23, 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery.  Some beautiful work...and it's right next to the America's Presidents Gallery...because those post-Civil War presidents had great facial hair.

Added bonus:  The National Portrait Gallery is open until 7pm daily, is a stones throw away from Proof, Zaytinya, Jaleo, Rasika, and Poste (just to name 5 places to go eat afterwards), and Metro convenient.

Really it's a no-brainer.

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On 12/4/2013 at 10:35 AM, Tweaked said:

I recommend the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition now up through Feb 23, 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery.  Some beautiful work...and it's right next to the America's Presidents Gallery...because those post-Civil War presidents had great facial hair.

Added bonus:  The National Portrait Gallery is open until 7pm daily, is a stones throw away from Proof, Zaytinya, Jaleo, Rasika, and Poste (just to name 5 places to go eat afterwards), and Metro convenient.

Really it's a no-brainer.

Third Place: "Self Portrait," Sequoyah Aono, New York City, Acrylic on Wood with Steel Base (2010)

Second Place: "Buffalo Milk Yogurt," Jennifer Levonian, Philadelphia, Digital/Video Animation (6:46) (2010)

First Place "Jessica Wickham," Bo Gehring, Beacon, NY, HD Video (5:05) (2010)

Congratulations to all finalists including the Honorable Mentions.

Considering how educated our readers are, I'm a little disappointed in the participation in this forum - *these* are the heroes our society should be looking up to; not the Miley Cyrus's of the world. People with true talent who have immersed themselves in their work to create things of lasting importance and beauty. They have all my respect, and they should have all of yours. Their names should be remembered as household words, and recalled instantly during conversation. What a wonderful world it would be ...

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Just looks like it is the call to submit entries for the next competition. It's the 4th edition, so I guess they are holding it every three years?

Most museums are working at least a year in advance on most exhibitions, takes a lot of time and effort to get everything prepped - securing the funding and the art, writing the catalouges, brochures, wall text etc.

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I took a quick walk through The Outwin (looks like that is how they are branding it now) on Saturday.  Fabulous.  I think this might be my favorite re-occurring exhibition in DC.  You really have no excuse for missing this one.

Some of my favorites:

Tim Okamura "I Love Your Hair" (Strong point of view, the kind of portrait that grabs your attention from across the room)

Dean Allison "What Would the Earth Look Like if All the Shadows Disappeared" (This looked like it was carved out of marble, but it's cast glass.  Fantastic)

Rigoberto Gonzalez "La Guia"  (This has a classic Caravaggio feel, but contemporary and timely subject matter.)

Evan Baden "Florence and Daniel" (A quiet piece tucked into a corner, but a lovely portrait of two transgender teens.)

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I saw this exhibition yesterday. As I entered the second room, a colorful portrait of an African American girl holding an oversized coffee cup grabbed my attention. The colors, her expression, her jaunty red hat, white gloves and crisp polka dot dress, drew me in.

Her eyes exude confidence, while her skin, painted grey, stands in sharp contrast to the pretty blue background and her bright clothes.

As I moved closer, I saw that this painting, "Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)" by Amy Sherald of Baltimore, had won first prize. 

I had several favorites, but for me, this one was the standout.

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On 12/20/2016 at 0:48 PM, Tweaked said:

Also closing soon.  Seriously, if you haven't seen this exhibit go...now!  or at least over the holidays. 

Yes, go! It is a *wonderful* exhibit this year (and perhaps every year). I went months ago, and still *vividly* remember several of the paintings without even looking them up.

On 11/2/2014 at 9:16 AM, Tweaked said:

Just looks like it is the call to submit entries for the next competition. It's the 4th edition, so I guess they are holding it every three years?

Yes, it is a triennial competition.

The name "Outwin Boochever" is daunting - daunting enough to keep people away, so I did a little research into what, exactly, it means.

Virginia Outwin Boochever (1920-2005) was a docent at the National Portrait Gallery (her given name was Outwin, and she married Louis C. Boochever, Jr.) They were upper-crust diplomats, but Ms. Boochever's greatest love was art, and she remained involved with volunteer work, being a volunteer docent at the National Portrait Gallery for 19 years, and eventually funding the competition that bears both of their names with a $2 million endowment - she lived just long enough to witness the success of the first competition, which began in 2005. 

Somewhere along the line, the years became "off," as it's not an exact triennial (although it is now) - the next competition won't be for another three years.

Two-million dollars doesn't sound like a lot of money, but at 1% interest, that's $60,000 every three years, which provides for the $25,000 first prize and then some. Not to mention that just being displayed among the finalists is a great honor for budding artists, and no doubt helps to propel their careers forward. A little money has gone a long way.

On 7/25/2016 at 11:25 AM, DIShGo said:

I saw this exhibition yesterday. As I entered the second room, a colorful portrait of an African American girl holding an oversized coffee cup grabbed my attention. The colors, her expression, her jaunty red hat, white gloves and crisp polka dot dress, drew me in.

Her eyes exude confidence, while her skin, painted grey, stands in sharp contrast to the pretty blue background and her bright clothes.

As I moved closer, I saw that this painting, "Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)" by Amy Sherald of Baltimore, had won first prize. 

I had several favorites, but for me, this one was the standout.

One interesting thing about "Miss Everything" is that, if you take a close look, her skin is not a human tone - she isn't "black" per se; she's merely "of color." And that's just one thing about this magnificent portrait that is more than meets the eye.

I believe that "judging" art is like "judging" restaurants - how do you choose among these? It's impossible, and in many ways, it's literally ridiculous. Most of them are great, some of them are good, but it's impossible to assign a numerical relative value to these paintings. Impossible. And I don't mean just these three; I mean a *lot* of them.

 

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2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition

The call for entries for the 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition will begin on Monday, May 28, 2018 (Memorial Day) and run through Monday, September 3, 2018 (Labor Day).  

The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today, the exhibition resulting from the Portrait Competition, is scheduled to be on view at the National Portrait Gallery from November 2, 2019, through September 6, 2020. A national tour is being planned in collaboration with four venues that will host the exhibition from October 2020 through January 2022. The exhibition will comprise approximately 50 finalist portraits, including the prizewinning entries.

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Trust us when we say mark your calendars for this exhibition.  You'll never know what the artists will get up to next.  

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The finalists for Outwin 2022 have been announced.  This triannual exhibition is by far one of the best art exhibitions in DC.  

"The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced the finalists in the sixth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Their work will be presented in “The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today,” a major exhibition premiering at the National Portrait Gallery from April 30, 2022, through Feb. 26, 2023, before traveling to other cities in the United States. 

Every three years, artists living and working in the United States are invited to submit one of their recent portraits to a panel of experts chosen by the museum. The 42 finalists in this year’s edition were selected from more than 2,700 entries. The first-prize winner, to be announced in the spring, will receive a cash award of $25,000 and a commission to create a portrait of a living person for the museum’s permanent collection.

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition encourages artists living and working across the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands to submit work that challenges traditional definitions of portraiture."

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2022 Finalists:

Holly Bass, Washington, D.C.
Lois Bielefeld, Chicago
Gustave Blache III, New York, N.Y.
Rebecca Blandón, Queens, N.Y.
Frank Blazquez, Albuquerque, N.M.
Clarissa Bonet, Chicago
Donna Castellanos, Elmhurst, Ill.
Jess T. Dugan, St. Louis
Michelle Elzay, New York, N.Y.
TR Ericsson, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Adama Delphine Fawundu, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Paula Gillen, Boulder, Colo.
Rigoberto González, Edinburg, Texas
Kira Nam Greene, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Inga Guzyte, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Mari Hernandez, San Antonio, Texas
David Hilliard, Boston
Keegan Holden, Los Angeles
Pao Houa Her, Blaine, Minn.*
Tom Jones, Madison, Wis.*
Laura Karetzky, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Khánh H. Lê, Washington, D.C.
Timothy Lee, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Riva Lehrer, Chicago
Jarod Lew, Beverly Hills, Mich.
Tim Lowly, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Narsiso Martinez, Long Beach, Calif.
Rania Matar, Brookline, Mass.
Elsa María Meléndez, Caguas, Puerto Rico*
Cheryl Mukherji, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Marianna T. Olague, El Paso, Texas
Maia Cruz Palileo, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Joel Daniel Phillips, Tulsa, Okla.*
Melissa Ann Pinney, Evanston, Ill.
Stuart Robertson, San Francisco*
Robert Schefman, West Bloomfield, Mich.
Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Los Angeles
Josephine Sittenfeld, Providence, R.I.
Grade Solomon, Fredericksburg, Va.
Ilene Spiewak, West Stockbridge, Mass.
Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Brooklyn, N.Y.*
Vincent Valdez, Houston*

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