About: Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realists

The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realists ("The Bennett Prize") is a $50,000 biennial art prize established in 2016 by American art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt. Bennett and Schmidt are married and have an extensive collection of works by women figurative realist painters. Their collection contains several hundred works and is composed exclusively of works depicting women by women painters. In establishing The Bennett Prize, Bennett and Schmidt expressed a desire to support the type of work they collect. Since establishing the prize, Bennett and Schmidt have announced a $12 Million gift to the Muskegon Museum of Art, the host museum for the Bennett Prize competition, which gift includes art from their Collection as well as cash.