The Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award and the Edwin Anthony and Adalaine Boudreaux Cadogan Scholarships help fuel the forward-thinking visual arts movement that makes the Bay Area unique. These awards were established in 1986 and are designed to further the development of Bay Area master of fine arts students and to foster the exploration of their artistic potential. The winners of the Murphy Award and the Cadogan Scholarships receive financial awards (award amounts to be determined when applications reopen). Each winner also has their work displayed in a professionally curated exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center.
This exhibition and program are done in partnership with SOMArts Cultural Center.
Applications for the 2025 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarships for MFA students are now open!
Submit your application by April 21, 2025, 11:59 PM PST by visiting SOMArts.
Eligibility
Applications for the award and scholarships are now open!
- The Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarships are available to Bay Area MFA (not MA) students to underwrite tuition for their continued academic study. These awards assist students enrolled in an MFA program to develop and explore their artistic potential in painting, sculpture, hybrid practice, installation art, mixed media, drawing, and photography. See this guide to check if you are eligible to apply.
- Students must be currently enrolled at: Stanford, California College of the Arts, the University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and San Jose State University.
- Students must have completed at least one semester of graduate study as of January 1, 2025, be continuously enrolled in the same program, and be in good standing through Fall 2025. Award recipients may be required to provide proof of continuing school enrollment through Fall 2025.
- Previous winners of the Murphy or Cadogan awards are not eligible to apply.
- Will have their MFA exhibition take place in Spring of 2026 or later
- There is no application fee.
Questions? Please email Esailama G. Artry‑Diouf at eartrydiouf[at]sff.org.
Work Sample Requirements
Applications for the award and scholarships are now open!
- Recent Work: We will only accept artwork samples that were completed in 2023, 2024, or 2025. Work must be created solely by the applicant; collaborations are not accepted. All work samples must be uploaded with your application to be considered for the award.
- Submission Formats: Applicants will be allowed to submit work samples in two formats:
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Image Work Sample: Applicants will upload (1) Work Sample PDF that includes up to 10 image based work samples with the artwork details (title, year, media, dimensions) for each work and optional 50 word maximum description for each work. Work Sample .pdf must not exceed file size limit of 10mb. Name the file with the following format ‘LastNameFirstName_Work Sample.’ – Upload the .pdf onto the SlideRoom application.
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Time-Based Media Work Samples: Applicant submitting time-based media (i.e. video or audio) will be prompted to provide URL link(s) to an online video streaming platform and artwork information directly on SlideRoom. If links are password protected, be sure to provide the password.
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For a combination of still images with time-based media: 1 minute of time-based media is equal to 1 image (e.g. you can submit 2 minutes of time-based media and 8 images, 3 minutes of time-based media and 7 images, etc.). If you plan to submit all time-based media as you work samples, you may not to exceed a total of 10 minutes.
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Maximum of 10 work samples will be accepted per submission. Additional samples exceeding the maximum will not be reviewed.
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Work samples can include performance aspects of movement and/or interaction if artists’ practice encompasses this. Applicants can clarify this relationship within the one sentence (50 words or fewer) description accompanying the particular work sample.
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Questions? Please email Esailama G. Artry‑Diouf at eartrydiouf[at]sff.org.
How to Apply and Deadline
Applications for the award and scholarships are now open!
- Applications open: March 2025
- Deadline: April 21, 2025 11:59 PM (PST)
Questions? Please email Esailama G. Artry‑Diouf at eartrydiouf[at]sff.org.
Award Decisions, Notification, and Payment
Applications for the award and scholarships are now open!
- Submissions will be judged by a panel of art professionals. The jurors’ decisions will be based solely on merit and are final.
- Awardees are notified in June
- Please note that award funds are sent directly to the financial aid office and credited to the student’s financial aid package.
Questions? Please email Esailama G. Artry‑Diouf at eartrydiouf[at]sff.org.
Past Awardees and Exhibiting Artists
2024 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship Awardees
Murphy Awardee
Elina Frumerman, Stanford University
Cadogan Awardees
Gabrielle Anderman, California College of the Arts
Damon Casarez, Stanford University
Priyanka D’ Souza (Resting Museum), University of California, Berkeley
Zedekiah Gonsalves–Schild, California College of the Arts
Lucia Gonzaléz Ippolito, San Francisco State University
Emily Harter, Stanford University
Chloe King, California College of the Arts
Viviana Martinez Carlos, University of California, Berkeley
Molly Rapp, California College of the Arts
Jonah Reenders, California College of the Arts
Cooper Salmon, Stanford University
Ashley Spencer, California College of the Arts
Chelsea Stewart, San Jose State University
Daniela Tinoco, San Francisco State University
2023 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship Awardees
Murphy Awardee
Joanna Keane Lopez, Stanford University
Cadogan Awardees
Salimatu Amabebe, University of California, Berkeley
Jonathon Bout, San Francisco State University
Xianghan Cheng, California College of the Arts
Lynse A. Cooper, California College of the Arts
Cynthia Gonzalez, San Jose State University
Valencia James, University of California, Berkeley
Leah Koransky, San Francisco State University
Wendy Liu, Stanford University
Nivedita Madigubba, University of California, Berkeley
Jessica Monette, Stanford University
Lucía Moreno Nava, San Francisco State University
Yunfei Ren, Stanford University
Chelsea América Torres, San Francisco State University
2022 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship Awardees
Murphy Award
Gericault De La Rose, University of California Berkeley
Cadogan Award
Irma Yuliana Barbosa, University of California Berkeley
Carolina Cuevas, California College of the Arts
Dance Doyle, California College of the Arts
Eniola Fakile, University of California Berkeley
Rachell Hester, San Jose State University
Thad Higa, Mills College
Tina Kashiwagi, Stanford University
Charles H. Lee,III, California College of the Arts
Philippa Renshaw, San Francisco State University
Tiare Ribeaux, University of California Berkeley
Maryam Safanasab, San Francisco State University
Jake Shapiro, San Francisco State University
2021 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship Awardees
Murphy Award
- Ahn Lee, University of California Berkeley
Cadogan Scholarships
- Haley Summerfield, San Francisco State University
- Eve Werner, San Francisco Art Institute
- Natasha Loewy, San Francisco State University
- Krystal Ramirez, Stanford University
- Ester Karnoski, California College of the Arts
- Bryce LeFort, California College of the Arts
- Rae, Mills College
- Erica Deeman, University of California Berkeley
- Miguel Novelo, Stanford University
- Adrienne Defendi, San Jose State University
- Katayoun Bahrami, California College of the Arts
- Katharine T. Jacobs, San Jose State University
- Andrew Catanese, Stanford University
- Edgar Fabián Frías, University of California Berkeley
- Kakou, University of California Berkeley
2020 Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship Awardees
Murphy Award
- Gregory Rick, Stanford University
Cadogan Scholarships
- Alexandru Salceanu, Mills College
- Amy Elkins, Stanford University
- Claudia Huenchuleo Paquien, San Francisco State University
- Consuelo Tupper, California College of the Arts
- Dominique Birdsong, San Francisco Art Institute
- Fred DeWitt, University of California Berkeley
- Gabriella Grill, Stanford University
- Janeil Champoy Lim, University of California Berkeley
- John Contreras, San Jose State University
- Leonard Reidelbach, San Francisco State University
- Monica Valdez, San Jose State University
- Zhongyu Yuan, California College of the Arts
Curated By
Kevin B. Chen
About Our Donors
Gertrude Murphy was a San Francisco-based sculptor. She was a recipient of numerous art awards and exhibited her work at the deYoung Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her husband, Jack K. Murphy, was a civic leader who served as president of the Jackson Square Association.
Edwin Anthony and Adalaine Boudreaux Cadogan met while attending the San Francisco Art Institute and later were both active members of the Marin Society of Artists. Adalaine devoted herself to painting and sculpture and Edwin worked primarily in oil painting and stoneware pottery. He was an alumnus of Berkeley High School and served as the head the art department at College of Marin, where Cadogan Hall is named in his honor. Adalaine and Edwin both experienced financial difficulties while in art school and understood the great impact scholarships could make during this early phase in an artist’s career. The Cadogans never had children, but in a handwritten letter to the foundation, Adalaine wrote that she wished for the “art students of the future to be our children.”