Amy Werntz’s Portraits of the Elderly Won the Art World’s Top Prize

Painter Amy Werntz wins the 2025 Bennett Prize

Painter Amy Werntz of Dallas, Texas, has officially won the 2025 Bennett Prize, the most prestigious award dedicated solely to women figurative realist painters. This accolade, which comes with a $50,000 grant, highlights Werntz’s unique approach to realism, celebrating the depth, complexity, and grace of older generations often overlooked in mainstream art.

The 2025 Bennett Prize winner, Amy Werntz, brings a jewel-like quality to her meticulously detailed portraits. Her emotionally resonant work elevates everyday moments, using figurative realism to challenge societal obsessions with youth and beauty. With this award, Werntz will mount a solo exhibition that will tour the United States, offering nationwide audiences a chance to witness her remarkable portrayals.

Celebrating Women in Figurative Realism: What Is the Bennett Prize?

Launched in 2018 by art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, the Bennett Prize is the largest art prize in the United States exclusively awarded to women figurative realist painters. With a total of $50,000 in grant money awarded over two years, the prize aims to support emerging women artists and redress historical inequities in gallery representation, museum exhibitions, and the valuation of women’s artwork.

“Museums and galleries present far fewer exhibitions of art by women, have fewer pieces by women in their collections, and, when women’s pieces are collected, they generally sell for less than works by male artists,” states the Bennett Prize website. “Over time, figurative realism has fallen out of favour in many art schools and universities.”

Amy Werntz: Painting the Face We Have Made

Werntz has long been drawn to depicting older people in her paintings. With a BFA in Interior Design from the Art Institute of Dallas, she approaches each subject with care, precision, and deep empathy.

“I strive to give importance to ordinary moments in everyday life and to show the importance and value of this generation so often overlooked in our society by the lure of youth,” says Werntz. “When you are young, you live with the face you are given; when you are old, you live with the face you have made,” she writes on her website.

Her win was announced at the opening reception of Rising Voices 4: The Bennett Prize at the Muskegon Museum of Art on May 15, 2025. The exhibition includes 30 paintings by this year’s ten finalists and runs through August 24. Her work stood out for its emotional gravity and technical finesse.

“In examining the pieces in person, I was struck by the respect for the elderly conveyed by Amy Werntz,” said Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, co-founder and juror of the Prize. “Not only were the paintings exquisitely executed, but they also honour a group of individuals who are frequently overlooked.”

Steven Alan Bennett echoed the sentiment: “Her level of mastery is remarkable, and her works have a finished, jewel-like quality that is instantly attractive. Her understanding of figurative painting is palpable, and her treatment of her subjects is both kind and subtle.”

Spotlight on Finalists and the All-Women Jury

Werntz was one of ten finalists selected for the fourth cycle of the Bennett Prize, which included:

• Olivia Chigas (New York, NY)
• Nimah Gobir (Oakland, CA)
• Ambrin Ling (Salem, OR)
• Jane Philips (Brooklyn, NY)
• Audrey Rodriguez (Brooklyn, NY)
• Abbey Rosko (New Tripoli, PA)
• Helena Wurzel (Cambridge, MA)
• Rei Xiao (Brooklyn, NY)
• Nicole M. Santiago (Williamsburg, VA)
  

In a historic first, the 2025 jury was composed entirely of women:

• Gloria Groom, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago
• Margaret Bowland, artist and educator at the New York Academy of Art
• Angela Fraleigh, artist and Core Program alumna
• Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, co-founder of The Bennett Prize
  

The panel also awarded the Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt Prize, a $10,000 award for achievement in figurative realism, to Nicole M. Santiago for her evocative portrayals of daily life.

Past Recognition and Future Exhibitions

This win marks a milestone in Werntz’s career, though she has long been recognised in the figurative realist community. She has been a finalist or recipient in several key competitions, including:

• The Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition
• The Bennett Prize 2
• The 15th International ARC Salon
  

She is represented by Valley House Gallery in Dallas, Texas, and her growing body of work continues to focus on the often invisible experiences of ageing Americans.

The Rising Voices of Women Figurative Realist Painters

The 2025 Bennett Prize and its accompanying exhibitions shine a light on the vibrant and growing field of women figurative realist painters. The Rising Voices 4 exhibition, along with the concurrent solo exhibition The Cost of Life by previous winner Shiqing Deng, demonstrates the range and power of this genre today.

With this win, Amy Werntz not only receives financial backing but also national exposure. Her win is a call to honour stories that are too often unseen, those of older individuals who wear their lives on their faces.

In a time when contemporary art often prioritises abstraction or spectacle, Werntz’s quiet, meticulous, and emotionally profound work reminds us of the enduring relevance of figurative realism, particularly in the hands of women artists who are reclaiming the genre for new generations.

Image – Amy Werntz. WIP, detail, 2021-22. Courtesy – Boynes Artist Award