Launched in 2006 to support contemporary portraiture in the United States, the National Portrait Gallery’s celebrated triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition returns to the Springfield Museums. A major survey of the best American portraits, selected by internationally prominent jurors and curators, The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today presents 42 works selected from over 2,700 entries, that foreground the vibrancy and relevance of portraiture today.
In addition to paintings, photographs, drawings, and sculptures, The Outwin includes video, performance art, and textiles, highlighting the limitless possibilities of contemporary portraiture. Open to both emerging and established artists, the 2022 entrants were encouraged to submit work that moved beyond traditional definitions of portraiture and engaged with the social and political landscape of our time.
This exhibition has been organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The competition and exhibition are made possible by the Virginia Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Endowment, established by Virginia Outwin Boochever and sustained by her family.
Sponsored locally by The Colvest Group, LTD, M&T Bank, St. Germain Investment Management, and William and Patricia Kelliher.
Supported in part by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Images above
Customer Service Representative; Artist: Marianna T. Olague; oil on canvas, 2020; collection of the artist © Marianna T. Olague
Glimpse (From the series “City Space”); artist: Clarissa Bonet; inkjet print, 2019; collection of the artist, courtesy of Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago © Clarissa Bonet
Kyung’s Gift in Pojagi (From the series “Women in Possession of Good Fortune”); artist: Kira Nam Greene; oil, gouache, colored pencil, and acrylic ink on canvas, 2019; courtesy of Contemporary Art Matters © Kira Nam Greene
She Waited for Her Family from this Point in Place; artist: Khánh H. Lê; acrylic paint, paper, and plastic jewels on canvas, 2021; collection of the artist © Khánh H. Lê
Anthony Cuts under the Williamsburg Bridge, Morning; artist: Alison Elizabeth Taylor; marquetry hybrid (wood veneers, oil paint, acrylic paint, inkjet prints, shellac, and sawdust on wood); 2020; Collection of the artist © Alison Elizabeth Taylor
Growing Up Ethan
Highway of Thought
- Holly Bass, Washington, D.C.
- Lois Bielefeld, Milwaukee, Wis.
- Gustave Blache III, New York, N.Y.
- Rebecca Blandón, Bronx, N.Y.
- Frank Blazquez, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Clarissa Bonet, Chicago
- Donna Castellanos, Elmhurst, Ill.
- Jess T. Dugan, St. Louis
- Michelle Elzay, New York, N.Y., and Nantucket, Mass.
- TR Ericsson, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Adama Delphine Fawundu, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Paula Gillen, Boulder, Colo.
- Rigoberto González, Edinburg, Texas
- Kira Nam Greene, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Inga Guzyte, Santa Barbara, Calif.
- Mari Hernandez, San Antonio
- David Hilliard, Boston
- Keegan Holden, Los Angeles
- Pao Houa Her, Blaine, Minn.*
- Tom Jones, Madison, Wis.*
- Laura Karetzky, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*denotes prizewinners
- Khánh H. Lê, Washington, D.C.
- Timothy Lee, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Riva Lehrer, Chicago
- Jarod Lew, Beverly Hills, Mich.
- Tim Lowly, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
- Narsiso Martinez, Long Beach, Calif.
- Rania Matar, Brookline, Mass.
- Elsa María Meléndez, Caguas, Puerto Rico*
- Cheryl Mukherji, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Marianna T. Olague, El Paso, Texas
- Maia Cruz Palileo, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Joel Daniel Phillips, Tulsa, Okla., and
- Quraysh Ali Lansana, Tulsa, Okla.,*
- Melissa Ann Pinney, Evanston, Ill.
- Stuart Robertson, Lawrence Township, N.J.*
- Robert Schefman, West Bloomfield, Mich.
- Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Los Angeles
- Josephine Sittenfeld, Providence, R.I.
- Grade Solomon, Fredericksburg, Va.
- Ilene Spiewak, West Stockbridge, Mass.
- Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Brooklyn, N.Y.*
- Vincent Valdez, Houston*