MUSKEGON, Michigan – Painter Amy Werntz, of Dallas, Texas, has won the prestigious 2025 Bennett Prize. In her work, Werntz strives to “give importance to ordinary moments in everyday life and to show the importance and value of this generation so often overlooked in our society by the lure of youth.”
Werntz is awarded $50,000, giving her the opportunity to create new work in the figurative realist style for a solo exhibition that ultimately will travel the country. The Bennett Prize is the largest prize offered solely to women figurative realist painters.
“In examining the pieces in person, I was struck by the respect for the elderly conveyed by Amy Werntz. Not only were the paintings exquisitely executed but she honors a group of individuals that are frequently overlooked. Her works are compelling,” said Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, juror and co-founder of The Bennett Prize.
“We continue to be delighted by the high quality of work from among the finalists. We were especially impressed by the work of this year’s winner, Amy Werntz. Her level of mastery is remarkable, and her works have a finished, jewel-like quality that is instantly attractive. Her understanding of figurative painting is palpable and her treatment of her subjects is both kind and subtle,” said Steven Alan Bennett, co-founder of The Bennett Prize.
Werntz’s win was announced today at the opening reception for the “Rising Voices 4: The Bennett Prize'' exhibition, which runs May 15 - August 24 at the Muskegon Museum of Art, in Muskegon, Michigan.
Werntz received her BFA in Interior Design in 2002. She has exhibited her work throughout the U.S. and has been an award recipient, or finalist, in many competitions including the Portrait Society of Americas International Portrait Competition, The Bennett Prize 2, and the 15th International ARC Salon. Her paintings have been featured in publications such as Artists Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, and International Artists Magazine and she has received Signature Status with the Portrait Society of America. She is represented by Valley House Gallery in Dallas, TX.
Also announced today was “The Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt Prize,” which includes $10,000, and was awarded to Nicole M. Santiago of Williamsburg, VA. Santiago was recognized for her unique depictions of everyday life.
Along with Werntz and Santiago, the other eight finalists were:
Olivia Chigas, New York, NY
Nimah Gobir, Oakland, CA
Ambrin Ling, Salem, OR
Jane Philips, Brooklyn, NY
Audrey Rodriguez, Brooklyn, NY
Abbey Rosko, New Tripoli, PA
Helena Wurzel, Cambridge, MA
Rei Xiao, Brooklyn, NY
The Rising Voices exhibition displays 30 works by the current competition’s 10 finalists. Concurrently on view is the solo exhibition of the preceding cycle’s winner, Shiqing Deng of Brooklyn, New York. Deng’s show is entitled “The Cost of Life.” The exhibition is supported by loans Courtesy of C+N Gallery Canepaneri (Milan-Genoa, Italy) & Gian Enzo Sperone (Sent, Switzerland). Deng was awarded The Bennett Prize in 2023 and has been creating new work for this exhibition since her earlier win.
Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, of San Antonio, Texas, established The Bennett Prize in 2016, endowing a $3 million fund at The Muskegon Museum of Art to ensure that The Prize will be awarded every two years in perpetuity.
“The Muskegon Museum of Art is proud to present the fourth iteration of Rising Voices and The Bennett Prize and this round of finalists really delivered yet again. In particular, Amy Werntz’s work has always been admired by the Muskegon Museum of Art staff. Not only is she technically skilled, her art resonates with the public with each piece telling a compelling story,” said executive director of the Muskegon Museum of Art, Kirk Hallman.
Schmidt and Bennett are among the country’s top collectors of figurative realist art. Their aim is to boost the careers of women figurative realist painters who have yet to reach full professional recognition and to bring figurative realist painting to a wider audience. The need for The Prize was emphasized again with the recent publication of a survey in ArtNEWS which indicated that income disparities, lack of support from museums and galleries, as well as censorship and sex discrimination remain realities for women artists.
The Prize is succeeding in this effort with prices for the finalists and winners work up by almost 50% since their selection. Similarly, the work of the 30 finalists selected in the first three cycles has been presented in almost 300 shows, both solo and group, published in more than 100 feature articles in arts publications and 70% have gallery representation.
This year's four-member jury were all women for the first time and included curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, Gloria Groom; artists Margaret Bowland and Angela Fraleigh; and Melotti Schmidt.
Juror Gloria Groom shared, “I was honored to have been invited to be part of this journey and have felt anew the joys of looking closely, and being transported and rewarded by the works from many talented artists, that speak in such different ways to the female experience.”
“Serving as a juror for The Bennett Prize was an honor and a challenge—a rare opportunity to reflect on how women painters are reshaping contemporary figuration. What stood out most were the artists who dared to claim the act of looking, of telling, of rendering their own worlds into existence. This prize plays a vital role in amplifying those voices and expanding the scope of what it means to paint the figure today,” shared juror Fraleigh.
To download images of the winners artwork with full image credits, please visit here. Learn more about The Bennett Prize at The Prize website. More information about the “Rising Voices 4” exhibition is available at the website for the Muskegon Museum of Art.
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