Exceptional Vision

The NSMA International Painting Competition celebrates contemporary realism on a global scale.

By Alyssa M. Tidwell

Each year, the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art (NSMA) in New Salem, Massachusetts, hosts a major competition with some pretty stellar prizes—ones that will undoubtedly change the lives of the artists who receive them. The NSMA International Painting Competition is a celebration of artistic excellence, inviting artists from around the world to showcase their very best in contemporary realism painting, and is designed with the express purpose of elevating the standards of representational art and uplifting emerging artists in the field.

Alex Venezia, A Clear Night, 2026, oil on panel, 20½ x 30½ in.

“NSMA seeks work that reflects not only exceptional technical proficiency but also a deeply felt artistic vision; it is in the fusion of these elements that the true power of representational painting emerges,” the organization notes. “In this competition, artistic spirit and technical mastery are not in opposition, but rather animate and elevate one another, resulting in a selection of works that are both formally rigorous and emotionally resonant.”

Elizabeth Beard, Mother and Son, 2025, oil on canvas on aluminum, 27½ x 20½ in. 2025 Grand Prize Winner.

The Grand Prize is the $35,000 Acquisition Award, followed by the $5,000 Small Work Acquisition Award, the $2,500 Director’s Choice Award and the $2,500 People’s Choice Award.

“The competition is unique for several reasons, the major one primarily being that the [Grand Prize] is decided by the finalists,” says Michael Klein, director of New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art. “At the gala dinner they cast a vote for their favorites, and through a ranked choice voting systemm we figure out who walks away with the Acquisition Award and distinguished trophy made by P.E. Guerin in New York City.”

T. Allen Lawson, End of Day, 2024, oil on linen mounted on cradled panel, 30 x 25 in.

Rose Frantzen, Last Light, 2025, oil on linen, 52 x 44 in.

Elizabeth Beard, winner of the 2025 Grand Prize, says, “As I reflect on receiving the Grand Prize in the 2025 NSMA International Painting Competition, I am both honored and immensely grateful…There are few moments in life that can send you spinning as you sit still, but this was one of them.”

A pivotal element of the competition is the three-month exhibition showcasing the finalists’ works at the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art, which will run from May 13 to August 16. This is the museum’s busiest season of the year, providing these artists with a platform for broad recognition and appreciation in a prestigious setting.

Fabrice Grimard, Path by the Lake, 2025, oil on linen panel, 8 x 13¾ in.

Finalists in this year’s competition include such esteemed names as Rose Frantzen, T. Allen Lawson, Glenn Dean, Fabrice Grimard and Alex Venezia.

“There will be 63 paintings on view, and the exhibition will run [three] months throughout the summer,” Klein adds. “The visitors get involved by selecting their favorite painting and casting a vote for People’s Choice, which is a $2,500 award given at the conclusion of the exhibit. The show runs throughout the summer, as mentioned, and students, veterans and first responders are free of charge. We encourage everyone to come out and view the level of talent happening in today’s current art market.” —