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The American Artists Professional League
The American Artists Professional League

96th Grand National Exhibition

October 28 – November 15, 2024 Skylight Gallery, Salmagundi Club, NY
Deadline was August 7th. Open to Members and Non-Members.
The American Artists Professional League: 96th Grand National Exhibition promotional image

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Deadline for entry was August 7, 2024
The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is pleased to announce the 96th Grand National Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club of New York. The in-person Exhibition and virtual show honors the finest in representational and traditional realism painting, drawing and sculpture.

We are introducing a Virtual Semi-Finalist showing in addition to the gallery Exhibition. Blind jurying will be employed with the top ranking Finalists invited to exhibit at the Salmagundi Club. Highly ranked entries which expressly choose to be 'on-line only' will be exhibited virtually.

Terms and Conditions

  • Open to artists who are at least 18 years old and who live or work in the United States and territories.
  • Only Realist and Representational works will be considered.
  • Open to all AAPL members in good standing and non-members. Membership is not required.
  • Work must have been completed in the last five years; after January 1, 2019.
  • Entered work cannot have been exhibited in any previous AAPL on-line or gallery show.
  • Entries in oil, acrylic, water media, pastel, drawing and graphics, and sculpture must be original. If more than one medium is used for your artwork please select the dominant one for your entry.
  • Up to three works may be submitted. Only one work per artist will be accepted.
  • Your entry confirms that the work entered is original and that copyrighted or public domain images by others have not been incorporated into your work.
  • For prints; woodblocks, linocut, etchings, monotypes and engravings will be considered.
  • Giclées, photographs, mechanical prints and digital artwork are expressly forbidden.
  • Per Salmagundi guidelines, sculptures may not exceed 36 inches in height, and no more than 40 lbs.
  • Framed work may not exceed 50 inches wide. Work that is too large to hang in the gallery will be rejected by the GNE Director at their discretion. To discuss the possibility of an exception email [email protected] before applying.
  • Sale prices for art need to be in United States currency. Work does not have to be for sale.
  • No refunds will be given. Mistaken and rejected entry fees will be donated to the American Artists Fund, AAPL’s charitable arm. Please read the prospectus carefully.
  • Entered work not conforming to the above criteria will be removed from jurying at AAPL's discretion.
  • All art, even if sold, must remain in the gallery for the full duration of the exhibition. Work withdrawn from the show after acceptance will disqualify the artist from exhibiting at the Grand National for 2 years.

Entry Fees

  • AAPL members: $45.00 for first entry, $25.00 for each additional entry. A maximum of three entries.
  • Non-members: $70.00 for first entry, $40.00 for each additional entry. A maximum of three entries.
  • All funds must be in US currency.
  • No refunds for rejected works.
  • Membership must be up-to-date to qualify for the discount.
  • New members are always welcome. Apply for membership before entering this show to qualify for the discount. Membership is available through the website: AAPLinc.org/levels; if you have questions please email [email protected]

Entry Process and Specifications

  • All entries are to be submitted through ShowSubmit.com. ShowSubmit provides a comprehensive ‘Help Menu.’
  • AAPL provides help with any application issues by contacting Alex Tibar at [email protected].
  • If more than one medium is used for your artwork please select the dominant one for your entry.
  • Sculptors may enter one extra image with an alternate view of the work.
  • After submitting an image(s) and making payment you can change your submission(s) by returning to the entry website and following directions.
  • By entering, you agree that AAPL may reproduce your work for promotional purposes. Selected work will be showcased on AAPLinc.org, in print ads, in the AAPL newsletter and social media.
  • All accepted works, Semi-Finalists and Finalists, will be displayed on AAPL's website indefinitely, and if for sale, listed in the AAPL Artwork Store (AAPLinc.org) during the show dates; October 28th to November 15th, 2024.
  • No submissions will be accepted after midnight EST on August 7th, 2024.
  • Please see Image and Filename Specifications section below.

Jurying

  • Each entry is reviewed and scored by the AAPL Board of Directors acting as Jurors of Selection. Two accomplished AAPL members will act as guest Jurors of Selection.
  • Submissions are scored on the quality and individual mastery of each medium as well as the composition, design, and emotional impact of the work.
  • Jurors do not see any information about the artist, or when "online only" is chosen.
  • Entries not conforming to the rules will not be juried.
  • Jurors make selections based on the digital image(s). Make certain the image(s) submitted is a true representation of the work. Work misrepresented by the submitted image(s) will not be exhibited.
A clarification about how the Semi-Finalists and Finalists are chosen:

For those who would like to exhibit in the Grand National but don't want the expense of shipping, an 'on-line only' section of the Exhibition has been added.

When the application is entered in ShowSubmit there will be an additional choice of “on-line only” for those who are not interested in shipping their work to the Salmagundi Club if their work is accepted. It will be assumed all other entries are intended to be shown in the gallery. The Jurors of Selection will not see this choice.

The jurying process will remain the same as before: all entries remain anonymous and are ranked on technical skill and emotional impact. The entire AAPL Board of Directors acts as impartial Jurors of Selection. The top ranked entries are invited to show at the Salmagundi Club. At this point, those who have chosen “online only” will be separated and added to the Semi-Finalist group.

The additional Semi-Finalists will be selected from the ranked list until there are 50 Semi-Finalist works.

Since awards are judged in-person, traditionally works that are not hanging in the gallery are not eligible for awards. Three Award of Merit certificates will be chosen for the online portion of the show.

Notification of Accepted Works

Accepted work will be announced August 23, 2024 by email.

Names of ‘Accepted Artists’, Semi-Finalists and Finalists, to be listed on the AAPL website: AAPLinc.org.

Hand delivery and shipping instructions will be provided with the acceptance letter. Please note, the Salmagundi Club requires an agent to deliver the shipped work, which incurs a fee. The fee schedule will be forwarded with the acceptance letter.

The images of all Finalist’s work exhibiting at the Salmagundi will be included in the catalog. Semi-Finalists will be listed. Award winning Semi-Finalist artwork images will be included in the catalog.

Finalists will receive a copy of the catalog. Additional printed catalogs will be available to purchase from the on-line print-on-demand service MagCloud.

Accepted works marked 'for sale' will have the opportunity to be sold in the AAPL Artwork Store on the website.

Delivery of Artwork

All 2D artwork must be professionally presented, framed or gallery wrapped canvas with finished edges, wired, and ready to hang.

Hand delivered work must be unpacked for registration. Packing materials will not be stored.

Hand & Shipping Agent Delivery: October 27, 2024
In-person Pickup & Ship: November 16, 2024

About the Juror of Awards

Brandon Soloff is a classically trained painter and portraitist based in New York and Lyon, France. After high school he studied for many years in Europe and the US, before settling in New York (where he was born in 1973). Soloff has exhibited his work at the Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Alan Stone Gallery, Hammer Galleries, Royal Society of Portrait Painters (London), Meredith Long & Company, Copley Society of Boston, Galerie Alexandre Butman (Paris), Salmagundi Club and others. Institutions where his portrait work has been commissioned include the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, Morgan Stanley, Westmont College, KKR (Kohlberg, Kravitz, Roberts & Co.) and others.

He has taught at Chelsea Classical Studio, The Art Students League, The National Academy and Studio126.

For more information, visit brandonsoloff.com.

Awards

Over $35,000 in cash and merchandise were awarded at the 95th Grand National Exhibition. Awards are dependent on donations and will be announced closer to the show date.

President’s Gold Medal (best in show) $5,000, four $3,000 awards, three $1,000 awards, six $500 awards, the Almenara Award: $300 and an invitation to the Almenara Prize Exhibition in Spain, plus many valuable merchandise awards.

Sales

Work may be for sale; NFS is allowed.

Works marked ‘for sale’ with a price will be posted on AAPLinc.org/Artwork-Store to promote sales.

AAPL reserves a 30% commission on all sold work.

Artwork priced between $5,000 and $100,000 are eligible for buyer financing. The artist's portion of the sale price is not affected by financing.

Sold artwork will be shipped back to the artist using the provided prepaid shipping label. The artist will be responsible for shipping the work to the collector. Arrangements may be made with the GNE Director for exceptions.

Questions

American Artists Professional League
96th Grand National Exhibition
Salmagundi Club of New York
47 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Additional Notification Information

Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on August 23, 2024.

You may view the notification in your ShowSubmit account by logging in and tapping the Notifications at the top right of the screen, or in your Entry History.

If you do not receive your email, login and view the notification in your account. We cannot respond to inquiries regarding the status of notifications.

Note: Entries made prior to 2023 may not display the View Notification link.

Image and Filename Specifications

  • File Format: Submit original, high-quality JPEG image files. Other formats (e.g., PNG, TIFF) are not accepted.
  • Crop Your Image: Ensure only the artwork itself is visible in the image. Do not show any visible matting, frames, or background distractions.
  • Orientation: Make sure your image is oriented correctly (right side up) so that the artwork appears in its intended viewing direction.
  • Image Size: You do not need to resize your image files before uploading. The system will automatically resize them. Smaller images cannot be enlarged to meet the requirements, so ensure your images are high resolution before uploading.
  • File Names: You do not need to rename your files before uploading them. The system will handle any file naming requirements.
  • File Size: There is a 30mb maximum file size limit. Larger image files will take longer to upload and process.

Additional Entry Information

  • You will pay for your entry by credit or debit card using our secure checkout system.
  • After your entry is submitted and paid for, you may log back in to review your entry, edit artist and image information, and add or substitute images up until the entry deadline (August 7, 2024.)
  • Entry fees are not refundable and must be submitted and paid by the entry deadline.
  • Entries cannot be accepted or changed after the deadline. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.

Support

For questions about AAPL or this Prospectus, please contact Alex ([email protected]).

For technical support or entry questions, first check our Help Center or Entry Guide. If you still need help, email ShowSubmit Support ([email protected]). We’ll respond between 9am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.