National Purebred Dog Day is pleased to announce its ninth annual Fine Art/Poster competition. One "Best in Show" winner as determined by the juror will receive $2,000, their winning image made into a poster representing National Purebred Dog Day for 2025.

The Challenge: Artists! You are strongly encouraged to include a breed from each of the AKC groups: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Herding, Toy, Non-Sporting, Miscellaneous and FSS (to see the breeds from each group, visit AKC.org).  

Over 400 dog breeds exist in the world today, some at risk of vanishing in our lifetime. This competition honors these purposefully bred dogs.

Criteria: Art will be judged according to the following standards:

• Does the image include different breeds highlighting the diversity of purebred dogs?
• Does the image positively address the heritage, diversity and/or predictability of purebred dogs?
• Does the image demonstrate creativity, originality, and craftsmanship?
• Does the artist demonstrate skill in their use of the medium?
• Will the artist's interpretation hold its integrity when translated into a poster?

Juror: Mr. Dan Sayers

The current Editor-In-Chief of SHOWSIGHT, Dan Sayers has covered various aspects of the sport of dogs for four decades. In addition to his efforts with the printed (and digital) word, Dan is an accomplished artist whose illustrations appear in the award-winning Encyclopedia of K-9 Terminology by Ed and Pat Gilbert. His original artwork is found in private collections worldwide. As an active member of the Irish Water Spaniel Club of America, Dan authored the AKC Gazette's breed column for many years and provided the illustrations, design, and editorial content for the IWSCA Illustrated Breed Standard. He has bred both Irish Water Spaniels and Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and has judged at a variety of shows, including two IWSCA National Specialty Sweepstakes. Currently, Dan is the club’s AKC Delegate.

Rules:

Competition is open to all artists over 18 years of age who have no affiliation with, nor support any animal rights group; National Purebred Dog Day most vigorously supports animal welfare. 

Entries must be original artwork in both concept and execution, and no portion may be of another artist's published or copyrighted work;

Media: Submitted work may be in oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, pastel, water soluble oils, casein, charcoal, conte crayons, mixed media, gouache, tempura, or ink. If a printmaking method is used such as serigraph, woodcut, linocut, intaglio or lithography, we ask that additional runs of the entry not be created for one year IF that entry is the Best in Show winner so as to not compete with sales of the poster. Photographs, sculptures, digital/AI, or fiber art are not accepted;

A non-refundable entry fee of $35.00 covers one submitted image per artist; Artists may submit three works, each entry is $35.00

Size:  Original size is left to the artist's discretion, but the finished poster size of the winning piece will be 18 x 24";

This is an on-line competition. Each entrant is required to submit one digital image of his or her entry.  Images must be in JPEG format. Please take care in photographing your work to ensure a quality image because entries will be juried by JPGs, and the strength of a submission partially rests on the quality of the jpg file; Be sure that each submission includes the name of the piece, its price, medium, and the artist’s name;

The winning artist will be notified via email or telephone on November 25, 2024

Sale of Work: Though it is not mandatory, all entries are encouraged to be made available for sale on National Purebred Dog Day's website where images will be posted after a winner has been chosen and announced. National Purebred Dog Day will retain 25% of sold pieces. This presents an opportunity for artists to showcase their talent and sell their work to a concentrated audience of purebred dog enthusiasts;

Call Legal Agreement

Terms & Conditions

The receipt of an entry in this competition constitutes agreement by the artist to fully comply with the conditions and terms set forth.  The winning artist consents to having his or her winning work of art made into any number of posters that will be sold by National Purebred Dog Day. The winning artist further agrees not to generate electronic or digital images or reproductions of the winning piece of art, or sell images of that piece independent of National Purebred Dog Day for three years from the date of winning the competition.

National Purebred Dog Day reserves the right to use any or all submitted images for educational and promotional purposes through social media, but only the winning piece will be made into a physical poster. All images shared through social media will be given full attribution, and one link (provided by the artist) through which interested parties may reach the artist will be included;

No late entries will be considered. No refunds will be made on unaccepted, late, or pulled entries, nor to those who have not complied with submission guidelines;

The price assigned by the artist to artwork in the online entry process is the price National Purebred Dog Day will use when posting their work on National Purebred Dog Day’s website, and price changes will not be allowed once a piece has been accepted. In the event a piece of art is sold, artists are responsible for making arrangements with the buyer, and that includes shipping and insuring their work; National Purebred Dog Day is not responsible for the handling of sales of art work;

By your entry, you agree to the rules, terms and conditions set forth by National Purebred Dog Day;

Winner agrees to give permission to National Purebred Dog Day to use their image as a poster, and for sale and marketing purposes. All other submissions also agree to allow National Purebred Dog Day to use their image for marketing purposes.

Application Requirements

By your entry, you agree to the rules, terms and conditions set forth by National Purebred Dog Day

Eligibility Criteria

Competition is open to all artists internationally who are over 18 years of age and have no affiliation with, nor support any animal rights group; National Purebred Dog Day most vigorously supports animal welfare.