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, Elisabetta Sirani, and many others.

Recent Acquisitions

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Peggy Bacon

Nude in the Living Room

Oil on Canvas 12" x 8"

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Shiquing Deng

Dilemma

Oil on Linen, 30" x 40"

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Ingebjorg Stoyva

Little Miss Nora

Oil on Canvas 52" x 65"

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Ann Graves Tanksley

The Smothering Mother

Oil on Canvas, 29" x 36.5"

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.