Compete 18th International ARC Salon Competition
Opportunity Description
International Deadline: July 12, 2025 – The Art Renewal Center is now accepting entries for the prestigious 18th International ARC Salon Competition.
When talking about competitions dedicated to 21st Century Realism, the International ARC Salon is the largest in the world. With over $130,000 in cash awards and international recognition through the ARC website which receives over 2,000,000 visitors annually, the ARC Salon also offers career changing opportunities through partnerships with prestigious magazines, museums, galleries and more. Don’t miss your chance to compete!
ELIGIBILITY
All entries must be original artwork, conceived and created by the entrant within the past 3 years. Works need to be original works of art and not copies of works by other artists.
Acceptable mediums include: oil, pastel, watercolor, graphite, acrylic paints, charcoal, clay, bronze, stone, marble and /or travertine, plaster, resin, scratch-board, gold-point, silver-point, ink, colored pencils, gouache, tempera and all traditional mediums. Fine quality realistic renderings in mosaic are also acceptable.
At this time, we do not accept etchings, photography, or other forms of prints whatsoever, nor do we accept digital art or art with digital elements. This is a competition for fine quality representational based works of art, no modernist works such as abstract expressionism will be accepted.
CATEGORIES
Figurative, Portraiture, Imaginative Realism, Drawing, Landscape, Still Life, Plein Air Painting, Fully From Life, Sculpture, Animals, and a special category for teens… see more
BENEFITS & AWARDS
Exhibition of Selected Works
The show will consist of approximately 100 of the best works from the combined 17th and 18th International ARC Salon Competitions. The exhibition is planned to open at what will be Sotheby’s New York’s new flag ship, Madison Avenue location, from July 17 — July 27, 2026, where we will hold our official award ceremony. This awe-inspiring international event will have artists from all over the world present, showcasing the true international nature and collaborative spirit in this area of Contemporary Art. Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s largest, and most dynamic marketplace for art and luxury.
Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc., New York City, NY will select a group of approximately 15 to 30 finalists who will be asked to supply the gallery with additional images. From those finalists, the gallery will choose a select group of artists to create new works for a group show to be held at their gallery on 55th Street in 2026 or 2027 depending on how much time the artists need to complete their new works.
The Springville Museum of Art, Springville, Utah, has added an ongoing award to the ARC Salon Competition, devoting a “Featured ARC Artist” gallery wall to their museum in their Founders Gallery. The museum will be selecting one ARC Salon Finalist from the state of Utah each competition to be featured at the museum over the course of the following year. The Springville Museum of Art is Utah’s first museum for the visual fine arts, dedicated as a “Sanctuary of Beauty and a Temple of Contemplation.”
The European Museum of Modern Art will be selecting one to three ARC Salon Finalists to be exhibited at the museum for a two month duration in 2026.
Cash & In-kind Awards
Best in Show: $25,000 cash
The William Bouguereau Award “Emotion, Theme, and the Figure”: $3,000
In addition, the winner will gain automatic acceptance into the ARC Approved Artist/Living Master Gallery with exemption from the application process and the application fee. The ARC Artist/Living Master Gallery space is located in the museum section of the ARC’s website and includes the artist’s biographical and contact information accompanied by 25-30 images of the artist’s finest works, as well as the ability to add content to the ARC Events Calendar and to make promotional announcements through the ARC Blog, ARC Newsletter and our social media outlets.
Publication Awards
See details.
- Fine Art Connoisseur
- PleinAir Magazine
- Sheng Xinyu Art
- Artists & Illustrators Magazine
- The Artist Magazine.
- Artists & Illustrators Magazine
- INSIDEART
- Western Art Collector
- Southwest Art Magazine
- Enchanted Living Magazine
- International Artist Magazine
- American Fine Art Magazine
- American Essence Magazine
ENTRY FEES
Visit us for details, entry fees vary starting at $28 (includes free copy of the ARC Salon book if shipping is paid. This book is a 300 plus page hard bound book).
APPLY ONLINE
Visit us for complete details and easy online application.
SALES
Works do not need to be available for sale or for the live exhibition to compete and win.
About:
The ARC is devoted to promoting education in realistic art both in training techniques and in the proliferation of historical art works. Read about the eight goals of our organization to learn more.
Art Renewal Center
100 Markley Street
Port Reading, NJ 07064
(+1) 732-636-2060 ext 619
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