Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant 2027

The Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant recognises painters, sculptors and printmakers who have dedicated their lives to their art, regardless of commercial success. Each year the Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation in New York awards 20 grants; last year each recipient received $25,000. Applications for the 2027 cycle opened on 15 October 2026 and close on 15 January 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

The programme has run for around four decades. The foundation is named after the Abstract Expressionist painter Adolph Gottlieb and his wife, Esther.

Who Can Apply for the Individual Support Grant?

The grant is for the serious, fully committed artist. You must:

• Work in painting, sculpture or printmaking
• Have worked in a mature phase of your art for at least 20 years
• Show that your primary involvement has been with your artistic goals, whatever other personal or financial responsibilities you have had
• Demonstrate current financial need

Maturity is judged on the level of intellectual, technical and creative development you have maintained over that period. Artists who have already received this grant three times or more cannot apply again.

Who Is Not Eligible

The foundation does not fund organisations, educational institutions, students, graphic artists or craftspeople. Photography, film, video and related forms are not eligible unless the work directly involves, or can be interpreted as, painting or sculpture. The grant also does not fund exhibitions, installations or projects: it supports the artist, not a specific piece of work.

Financial Disclosure

Eligibility depends on current financial need as well as artistic maturity. Each applicant must complete the financial disclosure section of the application in full and submit the required financial documents. Incomplete financial information can make an application ineligible, so gather the paperwork early.

How Applications Are Judged

A panel of five arts professionals with no connection to the foundation reviews the applications. The panel looks for a long, sustained and serious commitment to painting, sculpture or printmaking, shown through the work itself.

How to Apply

Apply online through the foundation's application system, linked from the grant page. Prepare clear images of your work across the years, a record of your exhibitions and career, and your financial documents. Give yourself time to complete every section.

Tips for Applying

Show the continuity and depth of your practice: the panel wants to see a mature body of work developed over decades, not a single recent series. Choose images that show how your work has evolved, and make sure they are well photographed. Be precise and honest in the financial section.

Related Support

The foundation also runs an Emergency Grant for painters, printmakers and sculptors facing a sudden catastrophic event, such as a fire, flood or medical emergency. That programme has no deadline and a lower maturity threshold of ten years.

Writing About Your Practice

Use the application to show the arc of your career. Describe how your work has developed over the decades, the questions that drive it, and how you have kept working through periods of little recognition or income. The panel is looking for sustained commitment, so concrete details, such as studio routines, long-running series and exhibitions over many years, are more persuasive than general statements. Keep the tone factual and let the images carry the weight.

Things to Consider

• 20 years in a mature phase of work.
• Financial need must be documented.
• Painting, sculpture and printmaking only.
• Deadline: 15 January 2027.

Apply for the Grant

Have you spent decades building your practice?

Apply for the Individual Support Grant

The full criteria and the application link are on the Gottlieb Foundation website.

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Last verified: November 4, 2026