National Purebred Dog Day Fine Art/Poster 2026 Competition

National Purebred Dog Day invites artists to celebrate the heritage, diversity and predictability of the purebred dog in its tenth annual Fine Art/Poster competition, the winning piece to be its official 2026 poster. 

NOTE: As this competition honors the diversity of purebred dogs, entries should strive to include breeds from as many AKC groups as possible to reflect this spirit.  AKC groups may be seen at this link.

$2,000 cash prize 

Opportunity to sell work to concentrated audience of dog lovers online • Open to international artists. Please read the longer description for rules, regulations, and suggestions on how to optimize your chance of winning. 
 

National Purebred Dog Day is pleased to announce its tenth annual Fine Art/Poster competition. One "Best in Show" winner as determined by the juror will receive $2,000, their winning image made into National Purebred Dog Day's official poster for 2026.

The Challenge: Artists are urged to include as many different breeds from the AKC's seven groups as possible. Click here to see breeds in those groups. 

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

• Image should include different breeds highlighting the diversity of purebred dogs
• Image should positively address the heritage, diversity and/or predictability of purebred dogs
• Image should demonstrate creativity, originality, and craftsmanship
• Image should demonstrate the artist's skill in their use of the medium
• Image should hold its integrity in poster form

Juror: Mr. Alan Fausel

Alan Fausel is Curator of the AKC Museum of the Dog, and brings 40 years of experience as a scholar, curator, and appraiser in the world of art. 

He has worked at the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco, and was curator at the Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh. He has also served as the Director of Fine Arts and Museum Services for Bonhams. He holds an M.A. in Art History from Stanford University,  and has been with the auction houses Butterfields in San Francisco, as well as Doyle, and Bonhams. He has also been a regular contributor to the Antiques Roadshow on PBS. Mr. Fausel has taught at New York University in the Graduate School of Arts Education, as well as Sotheby's Institute, and has been a frequent lecturer to groups such as the Appraiser's Association of America.

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. 

We welcome original works created for this competition. To ensure fairness and avoid copyright issues, submitted entries must not have been, nor currently be, exhibited, published, or included in any public or private collection prior to our event.

Media: Submitted work may be in oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, pencil, pastel, water-soluble oils, casein, charcoal, conte crayons, mixed media, gouache, tempera, 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. Photographs, sculpture, digital/AI-generated art, and fiber art are not accepted.

A non-refundable entry fee of $35.00 is required for each submitted work. Artists may submit up to three works ($35.00 per entry);

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, 2025

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.

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

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.