International Art Prize 2026
An open call for drawing and painting running simultaneously across London, New York and Paris, founded by Winsor & Newton and Paul Smith’s Foundation in partnership with ArtReview. This year’s theme is:
‘Making an Impression’
ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED
Three artists were chosen by a notable local industry representative who has the network and experience to develop the winning artist’s professional practice.
The prize
• £1000 worth of Winsor & Newton art materials.
• £1000 bursary from Paul Smith's Foundation.
• Final works exhibited and put on sale in a Paul Smith shop.
• Early access to the International Art Prize mentoring series.
• Take part in a panel talk in the Paul Smith shop with our media partner, ArtReview.
• Introductions to international industry leaders.
INTERNATIONAL ART PRIZE 2026
Meet the winners
Learn more about our winning artists from London, New York and Paris.
The Exhibitions
Bliss Coulthard - London
A conversation between Bliss Coulthard (@blissblissblissbliss) and Katy Wickremesinghe (@misskatywick), Founder of The Wick and Trustee at the Royal Academy and Dulwich Picture Gallery on the 30th of June.
Jackie Liu - New York
(@jackieliuart), with a conversation between Jackie and Sergio Pardo López (@sergiopardolopez), Director at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs on Friday 25th September 10am, Paul Smith - Wooster St, New York.
Axel Jonsson - Paris
[More event details to come]
A conversation between Axel and Hugo Vitrani (@hugovitrani) curator at the Palais de Tokyo on Thursday 29th October 5pm
FAQs
What is the prize?
Three winning artists will receive up to £1,000 worth of materials from Winsor & Newton and a £1,000 bursary from the Paul Smith Foundation to create a new artwork based on the theme of “Making an Impression”.
Winners will also have their work exhibited in their selected Paul Smith shop in either London, New York or Paris.
This year the prize has partnered with ArtReview who will host a series of panel talks in the Paul Smith shops in London, New York and Paris to celebrate the winning artists.
The city selected at your time of application cannot be changed once submitted.
Why is the prize open to artists in the first ten years of their career, and what does that mean?
The prize is designed to support artists who are in the early stages of their careers, typically within the first ten years of professional practice. If you're unsure whether you meet this criteria, please feel free to include relevant details in your artist statement to help clarify your eligibility.
What are the cities?
London, New York, Paris.
The International Art Prize film
Watch 'With Artists' a short film on the International Art Prize 2024 to learn more about the winners and their work.
About Paul Smith's Foundation
For decades, Paul Smith has championed art and artists with a global collection of art exhibited worldwide, including originals from David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Lynette Yiadom-Boake and Banksy.
About Winsor & Newton
The artists’ ally since 1832, Winsor & Newton is always innovating to help creators develop and flourish, with one of the widest portfolios of art materials in the world.
Competition Terms & Conditions
- The International Art Prize 2026 (“Competition”) is organised by Colart International Holdings Limited trading as Winsor & Newton, company number 03659130, whose registered office address is at Huckletree West, The Mediaworks Building, 191 Wood Lane, London, United Kingdom, W12 7FP (“Colart” or “Our”).
- The Competition will commence at 9am GMT on 5 March 2026 and will close at midnight GMT on 29 March 2026. We reserve the right to extend the application deadline.
- By entering the Competition, you agree to these terms and conditions.
- You may only submit one entry per person to the Competition.
- The entry must belong to you. If you submit more than one entry or any bulk entries made from trade or consumer groups will not be accepted.
- Participants must be aged 18 years or over when they enter the Competition.
- The Competition is open to entrants of any country or territory, as long as they are able to deliver their artwork to the city for which they apply, if successful.
- The Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Meta.
- Three winning participant(s) will be selected by an international judging panel comprised of leading experts within the art industry from all valid entries in accordance with these terms and conditions.
- The winning participants will receive up to £1,000 of materials from Winsor & Newton and a £1,000 bursary from Paul Smith’s Foundation to make a new piece of work that responds to the theme of “Making an Impression”. Completed works will be exhibited in a Paul Smith store in one of the following cities: London; New York; Paris. The winning participants must organise travel at their own expense to and from any exhibiting Paul Smith store. Artworks must be no larger than A0 in size and delivered to the store ready to hang by 8 June 2026.
- The prize(s) are non-transferable, non-refundable and cannot be exchanged by the winner(s) for any cash or other alternatives in whole or in part.
- Colart’s decision concerning the determination of the winner(s) will be final and no correspondence will be entered.
- The winning participant(s) will be notified by 14th April 2026 via email.
- If a winning participant does not confirm acceptance of the prize(s) within 7 days, they will automatically forego the rights to claim the prize(s).
- Materials supplied by Winsor & Newton will come in the form of a voucher that can be used either in store or online (where applicable) and materials available will only be those stocked in the relevant region.
- Any submissions and information provided by you, including images, names and town/city of your residence, will be used by Colart for the purposes of the Competition and for marketing.
- Winning participants will be asked to make behind the scenes content (remotely and under direction from Our content team) with the IP from any such content owned by Winsor & Newton with agreement that it can be shown on third party channels.
- Where necessary, Colart may undertake all such action as is reasonable to protect itself against fraudulent or invalid claims including, without limitation, to require further verification as to the identity, age and other relevant details of a participant.
- Colart will only process your personal data as set out in Our Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time: https://www.colart.com/en/privacy-policy/.
- Subject to the consent options you have chosen on the online registration form, you hereby agree to receive marketing and non-marketing emails from Colart. Colart will also share your entry and personal data with Paul Smith’s Foundation for the purpose of selecting the winning participant(s) and you hereby consent to receiving marketing and non-marketing emails from the Paul Smith Foundation. Paul Smith Foundation’s Data Processing & Privacy Policy can be found here: https://www.paulsmithsfoundation.org/legal
- Colart reserves the right to cancel, suspend or change the Competition or any terms and conditions applicable to the prize(s) at any time, without having to give reasons for its decision and without incurring any liability to you.
- Entries which are incomplete, misspelt, inaudible, incomprehensible or submitted outside the Competition opening times/dates are void and will not be entered into the Competition.
- Employees, contractors, directors and agents of Colart and their immediate families are ineligible to enter the Competition.
- To the maximum extent permitted by law, Colart and its group companies shall not be liable to you or any third party for any direct or indirect loss, expense, injury, claim, liability or damage of any kind resulting in any way from: (i) entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of any network, computer hardware or software failure of any kind; (ii) the unavailability or interruption of the Competition; (iii) the participant's use or misuse of the Competition or software relating to the Competition; (iv) any delay or failure in performance by Colart; (v) accepting or using the prize(s); or (vi) any negligence of Colart or its employees, contractors, directors or agents in connection with the Competition.
- Colart and its group companies shall not be liable to perform any of its obligations under the Competition or in respect of the prize(s) where it is unable to do so as a result of any circumstances beyond its control and shall not be liable to compensate participant(s) in such circumstances.
- The Competition, these terms and conditions and any non-contractual obligations arising out of them, are governed by English By entering, you irrevocably agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to settle any disputes or claims arising out of or in connection to the Competition or these terms and conditions (including non- contractual disputes or claims).
Winsor & Newton terms of conditions can be found here: https://uk.winsornewton.com/pages/terms-conditions
