PSA Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance!
A primary mandate of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) is to provide a forum for the exhibition of works by the most accomplished pastel artists in the United States and abroad. Since 1972, the PSA Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance! has been held during the month of September in the Grand Gallery of The National Arts Club, a historic mansion located on Gramercy Park, in Manhattan. The PSA Annual Exhibition is usually held in the month of September. The society’s annual exhibitions are the premier event for pastel artists worldwide.
Three PSA-Master Pastelists are selected to juror the exhibition and the PSA president Jimmy Wright serves as exhibition chair.
Past award jurors of distinction include Dr. Marcus Burke, Senior Curator of Paintings, Drawings & Metalwork, The Hispanic Museum & Library, The Hispanic Society of America, 2019; Calvin Brown, Associate Curator of Prints & Drawings, Princeton University Art Museum, 2018; Charlotta Kotik, former curator of contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum, 2017; Mark D Mitchell, Holcombe T. Green, Curator of American Paintings & Sculpture, Yale University Art Gallery, 2016; Linda Downs, Executive Director & CEO, College Art Association, 2015; Marjorie Shelley, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge, Paper Conservation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014.
The awards will be presented to their recipients at a special awards ceremony. Hall of Fame honorees and Friends of Pastel are honored at the exhibition award ceremony.
The awards ceremony will be followed by the annual dinner. During these festivities, five coveted pastel paintings by Signature members will be raffled as prizes to benefit the PSA School.
It is the tradition to schedule many accompanying activities during the annual exhibition, including a public gallery tour and reception, demonstrations, a vibrant materials fair, portfolio reviews, workshops, and reserved educational tours, in addition to the awards ceremony and dinner gala. The exhibition, the culmination of PSA activities for the year, acknowledges the professional excellence of participating artists and promotes the finest examples of pastel to the general public, the professional art world, art students, and art collectors.
