Exhibition of botanical art at RHS Shows

Regulations for Botanical Artwork (Paintings & Drawings)

Paintings and drawings

Paintings and drawings of plants, flowers and gardens may be exhibited at the Society’s London shows in November, January, February and at the BBC Gardener’s World Show at Birmingham NEC in June. No charge is made for exhibiting at RHS shows.

Consideration will only be given to works that are primarily of botanical interest, and paintings and drawings should be at least life-size. Miniatures are unsuitable for the Society’s RHS shows. To be considered at least eight pieces of work must be displayed.

Particular credit is given for botanical accuracy, exact colour reproduction and attention to detail. Higher awards tend to be given to larger, comprehensive exhibits illustrating a particular theme or plant family. Pictures are judged as a complete exhibit so that, if one or two works are of a lower standard than the others with which they are shown, the level of award will be affected. Gold Medals are only awarded to exhibits of outstanding and consistent excellence.

As far as exhibits are concerned choice of subject is left to the artist. The main emphasis is on botanical interest, and the exhibit should have a coherent theme. Paintings and drawings can be of any dimension (within reason) but, where possible, subjects should be depicted at least life-size. Where the subject is depicted more than life-size a scale must be indicated. Whether the work is shown framed or unframed is again up to the exhibitor but the exhibit must not be a mixture of both. It is quite in order for artists sending work from abroad to arrange for someone in the UK to hang and take down the work on their behalf.

Selection - new exhibitors

Artists who have not previously taken part in the RHS exhibitions before must show a sample of original work (four pieces) to the Picture Committee at its Summer meeting. Intending exhibitors who are permanently resident abroad may send actual sized prints but this facility is not extended to UK exhibitors. For more information about the dates and times of these meetings and the arrangements for delivering work for consideration please contact the Secretary of the Picture Committee.

How to apply for space

Applications for space for exhibits of paintings and drawings should be made on separate forms available from the RHS Shows Department. Exhibitors wishing to be included on the mailing list of those invited to apply for space for paintings and drawings should contact the RHS Shows Department by early June. The closing date for applications to exhibit paintings and drawings is August preceding the series of Winter Shows.

Exhibitors who accept space but fail to stage an exhibit without giving the Society at least three weeks' notice will not be considered for space in the following two seasons, unless good reasons are given or their non-appearance.

Awards for paintings and drawings

All awards will be based on the horticultural or botanical interest and accuracy of the exhibits. Awards for paintings and drawings are awarded in the GRENFELL medal range.

Awards for exhibits of special scientific or educational merit may be awarded in the LINDLEY medal range.

Exhibitors may not display anything of a promotional nature.

The following Royal Horticultural Society medals are available for award:
Gold Medal
Silver-Gilt Medal
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal

If an exhibit is judged to be below Bronze standard no award will be made.

It has been noted that some exhibitors refer to themselves as RHS Gold Medallists or RHS Medallists. These references should be qualified by the show(s) and date(s) of the award(s). If more than one medal is referred to, at least the years in which the medals were won should be mentioned.

Medals

The first time an exhibitor is awarded a Gold Medal at an RHS show, it is sent to the exhibitor free of charge. No second Gold Medal or first and subsequent medals of any other grade will be sent unless the exhibitor wishes to pay for them. Medals are never sent out un-engraved.

Manning of exhibits

Exhibitors who are selling their paintings and drawings must ensure that their stands are manned throughout the open hours of the show. Should an exhibitor have to leave his or her stand for a short time they should ask a neighbouring exhibitor to keep an eye on their exhibit or display clear details of contact name and telephone number. Exhibitors are asked to show consideration to neighbouring exhibitors and avoid encroaching on their exhibit space (e.g. Obscuring the work of neighbouring exhibitors when conducting business with prospective clients.)

Price lists

Every painting and drawing that is for sale must be labelled with an indicative letter or number referring to a price list. Every exhibit that contains paintings or drawings for sale, must have one price list and not more than two, which must be fastened to the background. The list, which should be typed or written clearly and must bear the corresponding letter or number and price of every painting and drawing which is for sale. The prices of paintings and drawings may not be advertised in any other way.

No painting or drawing forming part of an exhibit considered for a medal may be removed or substituted before the end of the show.

Exhibitors may be required to remove all or part of an exhibit that is considered unsuitable.

Signage

Each entry should bear a label giving the name of the plant or plants depicted in Latin. Signage is considered as part of the overall presentation of the exhibit and will be judged accordingly.

Staging

The arrangements for staging the exhibitions will be confirmed by the Shows Department.