FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2026
Contact:
Andrea Bailey
Executive Director, American Women Artists
Phone: 979-216-1630
Email: director@americanwomenartists.org
Hi-res images available upon request
American Women Artists gives over $36,000 in awards to celebrate the Of Mark & Meaning exhibition at the Customs House Museum in Tennessee
American Women Artists celebrated its tenth museum exhibition as part of the 25 in 25 campaign, an initiative to have 25 museum shows for its members over 25 years, by awarding women artists over $36,000 in prizes this past Saturday. The Grand Prize of $10,000, supported by the Janet and Robert Lee Family Fund, was awarded to Jeanne Crain Leemon for her still life Celebration of Spring. The award judges chose Leemon’s work because of the mastery of skill demonstrated in the hyperrealist work. The ceramic vase in this painting compels the viewer to want to pick it up and feel its texture and coolness. The peonies inside glow. The composition is anchored by a glossy wood table and a warm, mottled brown wall. The painting’s misplaced lone blossom on the table, and several fallen petals, remind us to enjoy spring while we can. Every season is fleeting.
Twenty artists won awards at the April 24th awards ceremony and closing reception of the exhibition Of Mark & Meaning: American Women Artists at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, TN. Winners included Linda Short, Christine Mercer-Vernon, Heather J. Jones, Liz Wolf, Shelley A Cost, Deliece Blanchard, Sandy Delehanty, Cynthia R Dill, Hui Lu, Kathleen S Giles, Erica Driver, Brooke Bartholomew, Carol Strock Wasson, Sally Maxwell, Susan Steging Cook, Ashley Donovan, Lara Restelli, Christine Graefe Drewyer, and Linda Louise Mutti. These talented artists live and work in cities across North America, including Miami, Minneapolis, and Santa Barbara, to name a few. Emerging artist Brooke Bartholomew won the People’s Choice Award sponsored by the Customs House Museum, which includes a solo exhibition at the museum. With another award given to her that evening, and her piece being purchased by a collector, Bartholomew provides a wonderful example of why American Women Artists’ mission is so impactful to sustaining the careers of professional women artists.
Of Mark & Meaning: American Women Artists was American Women Artists’ 2026 annual museum exhibition, part of its annual museum exhibition initiative. Although only 20 artists won awards, all of the works in the exhibition were award-worthy. Out of 791 impressive entries to the exhibition, 105 works were chosen by jurors to represent the best of the best women artists working in the United States and Canada. Selection jurors working at the top of their fields in the arts included: Vivian Chiu, a national sculptor based in Virginia who is known for her labor-intensive, repetitive processes to create optical sculptures from wood; Marcia Goldenstein, an accomplished landscape painter and fabric artist and Professor Emerita of Painting and Drawing at the University of Tennessee School of Art; and Kirsten Kokkin, an international award-winning sculptor from Norway known for her dancers and equine works in bronze. Award judges include arts administrators from respected institutions in TN and NY: Katie Delmez, Senior Curator at the Frist Art Museum; Sharon Louden, artist, arts leader, author, teacher, and former Director of the Chautauqua Visual Arts at the Chautauqua Institution; and Nandini Makrandi, Chief Curator at the Hunter Museum of American Art.
American Women Artists offers a full-color catalogue of the exhibition. An online exhibition accompanies the museum show and can be viewed on the organization’s website at https://americanwomenartists.org/. Many of the works are for sale. American Women Artists’ 2027 museum exhibitions will be at the Museum of Western Art in Texas and Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.
About the Customs House Museum:
Partially housed in a stunning 1898 post office and customs house designed by William Aiken, the Customs House Museum hosts exhibitions, education programs, and special events in its beautiful space. The Customs House Museum is known as the heart of the city of Clarksville and has a national reputation for championing women’s art.
About American Women Artists:
American Women Artists is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the inspiration, celebration, and encouragement of women in the visual fine arts. AWA began over 34 years ago and uses the power of collaboration to connect women artists and provide resources and opportunities to advance their careers. Since only 13% of works in museum collections in the U.S. are created by women, the 25 in 25 initiative was launched to highlight the work of its members and inspire dialogue about the importance of gender equity in museum exhibitions. Through these efforts, AWA seeks to celebrate women’s unique voices, stories, and commentary, broadening the human experience’s understanding.
SAMPLE AWARD-WINNING WORKS (high resolution images available upon request):
Grand Prize Supported by The Janet & Robert Lee Family Fund
Jeanne Crain Leemon
Celebration of Spring
Oil 20 x 16
Western Art & Architecture Magazine Award
Linda Short
Frolic
Scratchboard 24 x 36
Fine Arts Connoisseur Magazine Award
Christine Mercer-Vernon
The Arrival of Spring
Mixed Media 20 x 16
Excellence in Figurative Sculpture Supported by Kirsten Kokkin
Liz Wolf
Horse Power
Sculpture 20.5 x 6 x 6
For media inquiries, an interview with one of the award-winning artists, or high-resolution images, please contact Andrea Bailey at Director@americanwomenartists.org, 979-216-1630.
