About the Exhibition
The Salmagundi Club was founded in 1871 as a club of its time. Women were not allowed membership — or even through the door. Occasionally, their work might hang on the walls.
In 1893, a group of women artists who had been excluded from clubs like Salmagundi took matters into their own hands. They founded Pen + Brush just around the corner — creating their own space.
For a century, the image of women in American art was largely made by men. Through loans of significant works by the National Museum of American Illustration, this exhibition puts that history on the wall and asks women artists to answer it.
Archival works by Salmagundi members from the era of exclusion are juxtaposed with new juried works by contemporary women artists, same subject, different hands, different authority.
This is a show about who gets to define women. For a century, the answer was men. It isn’t anymore. This is a show about authorship. Who held the brush then, what they chose to see, and what women say when they finally hold it themselves.
In 1893, a group of women artists who had been excluded from clubs like Salmagundi took matters into their own hands. They founded Pen + Brush just around the corner — creating their own space.
For a century, the image of women in American art was largely made by men. Through loans of significant works by the National Museum of American Illustration, this exhibition puts that history on the wall and asks women artists to answer it.
Archival works by Salmagundi members from the era of exclusion are juxtaposed with new juried works by contemporary women artists, same subject, different hands, different authority.
This is a show about who gets to define women. For a century, the answer was men. It isn’t anymore. This is a show about authorship. Who held the brush then, what they chose to see, and what women say when they finally hold it themselves.
Jury
The exhibition will be curated and juried by an invited jury of women.
Exhibition Requirements
- Open only to women artists who are artist members of Salmagundi Club or members of Pen + Brush.
- Artists may enter two works.
- Only work not previously shown at Salmagundi will be accepted.
- Outside horizontal or vertical dimensions of most accepted works may not exceed 30”.
- Sculptures should be no more than 48” high and no more than 50 lbs.
- Artists are responsible for submitting images with accurate representation of their work. All submitted images are assumed to be images of the completed piece.
- All works must be professionally framed with wire for hanging. If framing is not applicable to your work, it needs to be professionally presentable for exhibiting in a gallery space with appropriate mounting to hang or display.
- If displaying the artwork under glass, it’s recommended that artists use plexi-glass to avoid breakage. The Salmagundi Club is not responsible for broken glass damage.
- Accepted work will remain in place during the exhibition and cannot be removed until it ends.
For additional criteria, please download the prospectus.
Entries
- Framed images are not required for entry. If accepted, the option to upload extra shots of your work will be available via a separate form that's included in the acceptance email.
- Artists are able to edit their own entries during the entirety of the entry period through ShowSubmit. After the entry deadline, changes to your entry will not be accepted.
- Entries not adhering to the Exhibition Requirements will be omitted. The decision of the Art Committee as to placement and installation is final.
- Acceptance emails will be coming from ShowSubmit. If you do not receive yours by the acceptance notification date, please login and check your ShowSubmit account notifications.
Shipping & Delivery of Accepted Works
- The artist has the option of delivering the work in-person at the Club during our receiving days.
- If shipping the work to our location, to accommodate the possibility of shipping delays, the artist should ship with an expected arrival date of the noted receiving dates above.
- The artist must include a prepaid return shipping label from a shipping provider (USPS, UPS, Fedex, etc.) when shipping their work to the club. This is required to ship the artwork back to the artist after the exhibition ends.
- The hangtags attached to your acceptance email must be printed out, filled out legibly, and attached to each artwork as instructed before delivery.
- If the work is not for sale, please write “NFS” on the hangtag. We do not accept “price on request”.
- Works being shipped must be sent in reusable shipping boxes for art, with the name of the exhibition on the outside of the package. Salmagundi members receive 10% off Air Float boxes. Contact [email protected] for the member’s discount code.
- After the exhibition ends, sold artworks and artworks that have been shipped by the artist will be shipped out within the following week.
Sales
- The club will receive a customary 30% of all sales. 70% to the artist.
- Artists will be notified by Salmagundi’s administrative staff when a sale is made.
- For the duration of the exhibition, our online catalog functions as an online store for artworks that are available for sale. Please note that for this reason, “not for sale” works may not be listed on our website during the exhibition. However, after the exhibition is over, all artworks will be archived indefinitely on our website, including “not for sale” works.
Deinstallation
Works must be removed immediately after the exhibition. If artists did not provide a return shipping label, the work will be returned only at the artist’s request and expense. 30 days after the end of an exhibition, each uncollected work will incur a $50 monthly fee which shall be billed to the artist. while the work stays at the Club. Uncollected works after 180 days will legally be considered abandoned property.
Liability
The Salmagundi Club is not responsible for loss, fire, burglary, or any other damage to artwork submitted. Submitting or sending a work of art implies an agreement on the part of the artist with the conditions set forth above. Images of accepted artwork may be used by the Club for publicity, advertising, or other purposes.
Awards
$2,000 of named cash prizes will be awarded:
- Mary McCord Award $500
- Margery Soroka Award $500
- Nathalie J. Nordstrand Award $500
- Gwynne Lennon Memorial Award $275
- Jane Peterson Award $225
Jury of Awards
TBD
Contact
Questions about exhibition criteria:
Art Committee: Bob Clyatt, Chair; Karen Loew, Vice Chair; Anthony Almeida; Steve Cosentino; William Jobson; Lou Lalli; Joel Moskowitz; Joan Marie Palmer; Georgette Sinclair; Shawn Sullivan
[email protected]
Questions about delivery and installation:
Brandon Beckstrom, Art Handler
47 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 255-7740
[email protected]
Additional Notification Information
Notifications will be emailed and posted in your ShowSubmit account by the end of the day on August 11, 2026.
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.
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
- After your entry is submitted, 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 4, 2026.)
- Entries cannot be accepted or changed after the deadline. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.
Support
Questions about this exhibition?
Contact ([email protected]) for questions about the Prospectus, SCNY, eligibility, artwork requirements, drop-off, pick-up, sales, etc.
Need help with ShowSubmit?
Visit our Help Center or Entry Guide for guidance on image uploads, payments, and managing your entry. If you still need help, email ShowSubmit Support ([email protected]). We respond Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm Eastern.