National Art League to Award Winners of Annual Juried Show This Weekend

The National Art League will hand out thousands of dollars in prizes this weekend during a reception for the gallery’s juried May exhibit, which includes paintings in a variety of styles from five states.

The league, located at 44-21 Douglaston Parkway, will display its annual judged and juried show, which includes work from the gallery’s members and nonmembers, through the end of the month.

Marie Marsina, the league’s president, said the exhibit’s 99 pieces of artwork cover a variety of subjects, such as landscapes, floral paintings, portraits and still life, in a diverse range of styles, including watercolors, oils, acrylic works, pencil drawings, pottery and mixed media collages.

“This is a very quality show,” Marsina said. “It’s juried, so people know that you need to have something exceptional to get in.”

She said 70 of the show’s works were created by league members, but the rest of the paintings were sent by artists who hail from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, upstate New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Wisconsin. 

In March, a judge picked out the show’s 99 pieces from hundreds of submitted works.

On Sunday, the league will hold a reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the show’s artists during which a judge will award first, second and third prizes as well as 15 honorable mentions.

The first place winner will take home $500 and the league will hand out a total $2,000 in prizes.

Other winners will receive art merchandise, such as watercolor kits or certificates to stores, awards from a number of sponsors, including Winsor and Newton, Utrecht and Jack Richeson and Company.

Next month, the league will host its annual children’s shows, which will include the works of local grade, middle and high school students who take part in the gallery’s classes.

The reception for that show will take place on June 4 from 10 a.m. to noon.