On Monday, June 9, the 21st Annual Bethesda Painting Awards named four winners for the 2025 prizes.
Elaine S. Wilson of Silver Spring won the Best In Show award for $10,000 for her landscape paintings of scenes of life around the Washington, D.C. area. Wilson holds a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work is featured in the collections of the Library of Congress, Grand Rapids Art Museum and University of Michigan.
“I have been applying for [many] years and never made the first cut,” she stated in a post on Instagram, “Thank you to Bethesda Urban Partnership. Thank you Carol Trawick. Thank you to the jury.”
Mason Owens of Baltimore took home second place with a prize of $2,000 for his dreamlike, intimate tempera paintings illustrating scenes of homes and domesticity.
Anna Child received third place and a $1,000 prize for her colorful, abstract work.
The Young Artist Award, which goes to applicants under 30, was given to Alexandria, Virginia-based artist Malik Greene, who presented earnest and unique portraits of Black men.
The Bethesda Painting Awards were founded in 2005 by business owner Carol Trawick, who has served as a community advocate for over 25 years and created The Jim And Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007, which assists local health and human service and arts nonprofits in Montgomery County.
The exhibition will be on display from June 6 to June 29 at Gallery B, located on 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday from 12 to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A public opening reception will be held on Friday, June 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.
