The AXA Art Prize is the premier figurative art prize in North America. Associate Professor Margaret Morrison has been selected as a Regional Juror for 2019. Formerly known as the XL Catlin Art Prize, this competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students in U.S. art programs. Some of last year’s participating institutions include Columbia University, Laguna College of Art & Design, Parsons School of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, San Francisco Art Institute and Yale. The fact that the Lamar Dodd School of Art is included in this collection of prestigious institutions speaks highly of the exception quality of the School, as well as our faculty, programs, and students. 

Morrison is an associate professor and chair of the Painting and Drawing program at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. In 2012 she was awarded the University of Georgia Center for Teaching and Learning Lilly Fellowship and in 2014, and two Wilson Center Faculty Research Grants. Morrison received her MFA from the University of Utah in 1986 and has been exclusively represented by John and Kristine Woodward of the Woodward Gallery in New York City since 1994.

Best known for her detailed still-life and surreal figurative paintings, Morrison’s figurative imagery is expertly lit to invoke a foreshadowing element to the composition. Developing her still-life palette from a more muted tone to the brilliant colors seen today, Morrison’s super real, larger-than-life paintings of food, for example, are good enough to taste.

The AXA Art Prize shines a spotlight on the re-emergence of figurative art in the contemporary art world. Now in its second year in North America, the prize is founded on a 10-year legacy of a previous prize which was established in the UK and recognized young artists through a prestigious London exhibition and catalog publication. Over a decade the prize established a strong reputation as an insightful overview of emerging talent and has continued to build on that position of credibility in North America. The contest provides a unique platform for new artistic talent and gives the next generation of figurative artists the perfect forum in which to launch their careers.

The AXA Art Prize submissions open in February 2019. The US has been divided into five regions for the prize: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, and West. Regional Jurors will rate all submissions from their region. Upon completion, regional submissions will be presented to the Exhibition Jury.

The Exhibition Jury is responsible for determining the 40-piece exhibition from the works selected by the regional juries. A Prize Jury will then determine the 1st and 2nd prize winners. The 1st prize is a $10,000 cash prize and 2nd prize will be $5,000. The contest is sponsored by AXA XL, a global insurance company, and the exhibit will tour nationally in the fall of 2019 to San Francisco, Chicago, and New York where it will culminate in an awards presentation at the New York Academy of Art. 

Learn more about the AXA Art Prize here.