Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt and Steven Alan Bennett

A collection of figurative realist paintings of women by women

Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt established The Bennett Collection of Women Realists® in 2009. The two collectors limit their collection to figurative realist paintings of women by women artists. The Collection includes work by some of the most exciting women painters currently working: Julie Bell, Margaret Bowland, Aleah Chapin, Aneka Ingold, Andrea Kowch, Alyssa Monks, Katie O’Hagan and dozens of others on the cutting edge of figurative realism. In addition, the Collection includes historic women painters from across the generations, including Gertrude Abercrombie, Artemisia Gentileschi, Elaine de Kooning, and many others.

Recent Acquisitions

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Janice Biala

Portrait of Lisa Tabak, 1959

Oil on Canvas, 21 1/2” x 17 3/4”

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Kathleen Blackshear

Portrait of Florence Arquin, c. 1932

Oil on Canvas, 30 1/4” x 24”

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Aleah Chapin

And Spring Unfurled Her Fingers, 2022

Oil on Canvas, 24” x 30"

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Angela Fraleigh

Splinters of a Secret Sky, 2021

Oil on Canvas, individual painting from larger, 96” x 72"

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Sally Michel

Yellow Nude, 1968

Oil on Canvas, 40" x 48”

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Plautilla Nelli

Saint Catherine of Siena, c. 1570

Oil on Canvas, 25” x 18.5”

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Katie O’Hagan

Resistance, 2017

Oil on Canvas, 62” x 102”

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Su Su

Pears, Moth and Brushes, 2022

Oil on Silk, 48" x 36"

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Ecaterina Vorona

Dryades, 2022

Acrylic on Canvas, 47.5” x 31.5”

The largest prize offered solely to women figurative realist painters.

The Bennett Prize® , created in 2018, biannually awards $50,000 to a woman artist to create her own solo exhibition of figurative realist paintings, which travels the country. The Prize propels the careers of women painters who have not yet realized full professional recognition, empowering new artists and those who have painted for many years. The Prize expands opportunities for the public, who may not be familiar with figurative realist painting, to learn more about the creative vision of talented women painters in this increasingly popular genre.

Upcoming Events

Womanish: Audacious, Courageous, Willful Art

Tobin Exhibition Galleries at McNay Art Museum

6000 N New Braunfels Ave

San Antonio, TX USA

March 04 - Jul 02, 2023

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The Bennett Prize 3.0 Rising Voices Exhibition

Muskegon Museum of Art

Muskegon, MI USA

May 18 - Sep 10, 2023

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