The neo-expressionist is one of 25 artists to be selected for an exhibition in New York to promote New Zealand art.
McDougall and Oamaru artist Kit MacGregor were the only Otago painters to be invited to the $US350,000 ($NZ427,500) "Bringing Contemporary New Zealand Art to New York" show at Agora Gallery in New York.
"It's the first time this has ever happened over there and it's very exciting," the Broad Bay artist said yesterday.
"Each of the 25 artists are showing two works; so there are 50 works in total. The show is in the middle of Manhattan in a very arty and sophisticated area, and it will hopefully expose my work to a huge new market. There are more than 15,000 people on the invite list," McDougall said.
"New Zealand wine, film and music is very popular in the States and it's hoped New Zealand art will be, too."
The exhibition focused on artists who illustrated New Zealand's unique cultural diversity and Maori and Pacific Island influences, curator and Flagstaff Gallery director Alka Fowler said.
"'Bringing New Zealand Art to New York' offers a rare opportunity to glimpse into the intimacy of everyday life in New Zealand, shaped by the magnificent isolation, a spirit of adventure and an ever-present sense of humour," she said.
The exhibition will be opened on Anzac Day with a traditional Maori powhiri welcome and wero challenge, attended by the New Zealand consulate and United Nations Development Programme administrator Helen Clark, former New Zealand prime minister.
It will run until June 7.
