This past year, the students of Charlotte Latin School had extraordinary success in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Out of a pool of over 110,000 entries from across the United States and Canada, Latin students were awarded 25 regional Gold Keys for visual work, 14 regional Silver Keys, and 12 regional Honorable Mentions. Now they have been honored at the national level of the Scholastic competition, its highest echelon: one Latin artist received a Gold Medal, while four more received Silver Medals, and a sixth received an honorable mention for her portfolio. Fewer than one percent of entries received a national Gold Medal or Silver Medal.

The Gold Medal went to Madison Nabors ’25 for her evocative portrait LEAH, an oil pastel work on paper. Although the subject of the portrait evoked the pose of Edvard Munch’s The Scream, her penetrating gaze over the top of her eyeglasses suggested that she was seeing both the world’s horrors and its mysteries. 

The Silver Medals went to Sutton Ellison ’28 for Depths of Sequoias, Ella Hennessy ’28 for Strike, Sophia Oh ’26 for Hyacinthoides, and Isabel Yang ’26 for Ma Eating Bundt Cake. The honorable mention was awarded to Hope Gottschling ’24 for her fashion portfolio Threads. 

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have honored many visual artists who went on to notable careers, ranging from Andy Warhol to Tschabalala Self. Scholastic celebrated its 101st class of National Medalists at a benefit dinner in the Ziegfeld Ballroom of New York City on June 12, plus a nationwide virtual fete on June 26, followed by an online exhibition.

“We have incredible faculty to support our students,” said Kaila Gottschling, Visual Arts Department Chair TK-12. “It is wonderful to see our students soar as only Hawks can!”