TRAC 2014

5 February, 2014

The Representational Art Conference 2014 kicks off in Ventura, CA this coming Sunday. Kara Ross, ARC Director of Operations will be on a panel discussing the future of representational art on Wed 8:30-10 am. Moderated by John Seed, other panel members include F Scott Hess, Graydon Parrish, Candice Bohannon Reyes and Peter Trippi.

Empire by Julio Reyes

The event runs from March 2 – March 5th. ARC Living Master™ Virgil Elliott and ARC Living Master™ Jeremy Lipking will be giving presentations as well as ARC Living Master™ Juliette Aristides who will be a Keynote speaker. ARC Living Master Julio Reyes™ will be a panelist/ featured speaker. Also Peter Adams who will represent the California Arts Club, an ARC Allied Organization™, and Peter Trippi will represent Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, another ARC Allied Organization™ on today’s market for representational art. To view more on this and other exhibitions, click here.

Elizabeth Nourse: Rites of Passage

3 February, 2014

November 23, 2013 - March 2, 2014 Guild Hall - 158 Main Street, East Hampton, NY 11937
The First Communion by Elizbeth Nourse	This exhibition celebrates the acquisition of The First Communion, a masterpiece by Cincinnati favorite Elizabeth Nourse (1859–1938) painted in 1895 from studies she made in the Breton village of Saint Gildas. Born in Mt. Healthy, Ohio, Nourse studied at the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati before moving to France, where she enjoyed a successful career. The First Communion explores one of her signature themes: the spiritual lives of women and their participation in religious rituals. The painting will appear in context with fourteen works by Nourse from the holdings of the Art Museum and several loans from local collections.
To view more on this and other exhibitions, click here.

Masters of the American West

2 February, 2014

The Masters of the American West show is an invitational show held every year at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, CA. It is the 17th year for this Fine Art Exhibition and Sale. It features 82 of the very highest level of contemporary representational artists & their paintings or sculptures. The show will be featuring works by ARC Living Masters™ John Buxton and Jeremy Lipking.
Open now through March 16, 2014 The Autry in Griffith Park 4700 Western Heritage Way Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462 To view more on this and other exhibitions, click here.	A Brief Delay At The Wall by John Buxton

A Great Example of Art Speak

5 February, 2014

Art Speak, A way by which complex sounding words and concepts are used to create the illusion of something being more then it is as a method to create value, meaning and importance that drastically outweighs what is actually there. Sotheby's Contemporary Department said that "Cy Twombly's epic 1964 canvas 'Untitled (Rome)' is one of the highlights of our Contemporary Art Evening Auction on 12 February 2014." But what is even more amusing is the video created about the piece for the sale. If one looks at it objectively we can see that the painting really looks like the type of doodling that many peoples' two year old children do. At one point the video flashes to a scribble with pencil and say's it shows the artist's "growing confidence". Evidently there are many in the art world who think adults scribbling like children is something people should be willing to pay big bucks for. Although the piece does look like one a child would do, this doodle sold for 12,178,500 British pounds, over 20,000,000 US dollars.
	Click here to view this incredible example of art speak. Everything about it from the word choice to the British accent to the dramatic music oozes value, when really the work is nothing but scribbles. This concept was also explored in Frederick C. Ross's new speech, titled Why Realism? To read the speech, click here.

The Academy of Realist Art, Boston Scholarship Competition

4 February, 2014

The Academy of Realist Art, Boston announces its second annual scholarship competition for promising artists with a love for the academic style of painting and drawing. This ARC Approved Academy helps students master their fine art skills using a curriculum modeled on those used by the great 19th-century European ateliers and academies. Award-winning instructors at ARA Boston have varied educational backgrounds including study at ARA Toronto, Angel Academy of Art, Florence Academy of Art, Boston Museum School and the New York Academy of Art. These instructors are dedicated to providing every student with an individualized, rigorous educational experience.

Portrait by Garrett Vitanza

The scholarship award is for one year of full-time tuition, (September 2014-June 2015). Deadline for submission is March 15, 2014. For more information about the competition please visit http://academyofrealistartboston.com/scholarship-info/.

Why Realism?

2 February, 2014

ARC has just published a speech titled "Why Realism?" given by ARC Chairman, Frederick C. Ross, on February 7, 2014 at the University of Connecticut. This was given as the Keynote Address to the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists. "Thinking about this theme, I've concluded that nothing could be more appropriate than to ask and answer this question: Why Realism? There are finally today many organizations that believe in the value and importance of realism, both classical and contemporary; but why Realism? Why, after a century of denigration, repression and near annihilation, when the accepted beliefs taught in nearly every high school, college and university for the last hundred years, has been that realism is unoriginal?…
	My answer is direct, simple and should be self-evident: The visual fine arts of drawing, painting and sculpture are best understood first last and always as a language; a visual language. It was developed and preserved first and foremost as a means of communication very much like spoken and written languages. And like language it is successful if communication takes place and it is unsuccessful if it does not. This answer simultaneously defines the term "Fine Art." So fine art is a way that human beings can communicate... ". To read the full speech, click here.

New ARC Letter

4 February, 2014

Would you like to Sponsor New Artists in the ARC Museum?

3 February, 2014

Since we have limited staff and funding we can only add a certain number of images to the ARC Museum per year. If there is an artist that fits the ARC Philosophy that you would like to see added to the ARC website, we would be happy to consider them. If we agree that they should be added, for a donation of $500 you can sponsor the addition of their work to the ARC Museum. If there is an artist already on the ARC website that you would like additional images for or better quality images for posted, we are happy to accommodate this as well for a $500 donation. ARC is a 501C3 Nonprofit Educational Foundation, donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Portrait of Mrs. Alex Puleston by John William Waterhouse Recently Added

Two-Part Lecture Series

2 February, 2014

	Gary Christensen, author of Richard F. Lack Catalogue Raisonné, will present an illustrated lecture on the preliminary studies, drawings and sketches of Richard Lack, founder of The Atelier, formerly Atelier Lack and the Classical Realist Movement. The first lecture will present Lack's early drawings, student work, and works completed at the beginning of his career from 1940 to 1961. For the second lecture, Gary will present Lack's studies and their paintings as well as copies and other drawings from 1962 to 1993. Saturday, Feb. 15 & Feb. 22, 10am - noon $15 for one lecture or $25 for both lectures.
Email mail@theatelier.org or call The Atelier at 612-362-8421 to reserve your seat. To view more on this and other events, click here.

The Ani Art Academies Exhibition and Sale

1 February, 2014

Heroes, Villains, Myths & Legends This exhibit will be the second significant concentration of works in New York City from The Ani Art Academies' instructors, current apprentices, alumni and associates. A broad theme was chosen to give each artist the freedom to express themselves through characters and individuals who inspire them. On view will be a variety of works celebrating The Lone Ranger, Wolverine, Atlas, Aphrodite, Mata Hari, Miss Havisham (from Great Expectations), Joan of Arc, Tron and many others; this will be an amazing exhibition and is one in which the quality of the works will shock you.

Hi Yo Silver by Anthony Waichulis

March 15 - April 11, 2014 Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc. - 5 East 57th Street, 8th Floor, New York NY 10022 To view more on this and other exhibitions, please click here.

Grand Central Academy of Art Open House

4 February, 2014

Treasure by Jacob Collins

The Grand Central Academy of Art will be hosting its 2nd Annual Open House on Friday, February 21st from 6 - 8 p.m. Over 100 works by students and faculty will be on display. A selection of works will be for sale. RSVP to gca.leeanna@gmail.com. The Grand Central Academy is located 20 W 44th St, 6th floor, New York, NY, 10036. To read more on this and other exhibitions, click here.

New Article

1 February, 2014

William Bouguereau's “Virgin of the Lilies” versus “Madonna of the Roses” was recently published in the Epoch Times.
La Vierge Aux Lys	La Madone aux Roses
Although William Bouguereau (1825–1905), painted the Madonna and Child several times throughout his career, there are two versions that draw an interesting comparison to one another as they are similar in many ways but hold interesting symbolic differences as well. The first is “La Vierge aux Lys” painted in 1899 and the second is “La Madone aux Roses,” in 1903. Both are three quarters length and show only the mother and child with no additional figures. To read the full article by Kara Lysandra Ross, click here.