The art world isn’t having an easy moment. Galleries are closing, federal arts funding has dried up, and collectors have pulled back from big-ticket purchases. Against that backdrop, The Bennett Prize — a biennial award for women painters working in figurative realism — just raised its grand prize from $50,000 to $75,000. The timing is not lost on the artists who have previously sought The Prize. “The Bennetts raising The Prize amount could supplement somebody who actually needs it,” says Monica Ikegwu, a Baltimore-based painter and 2023 finalist. “That’s important in this landscape, where people might be going through a financial crisis in their practice.” The Prize, now in its fifth cycle, was founded in 2018 by collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt with a straightforward mission: to help women painters achieve the kind of recognition that has historically gone to their male peers. The call for entries is open now. Ten finalists will be included in a group exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art in Michigan in spring 2027, where …