The Art Renewal Center® is proud to present the award winners and the top 100 finalists in our third International ARC Salon™ Competition. This year we continued our pattern of growth with over 1,600 entries, and a significant increase in the number of participants as well.
ARC is encouraged by the quality of work submitted in this year's competition. Young gifted artists who are just now beginning their careers and some of the most legendary and well-respected artists alive today were brought together in a single competition where the prestige of even making it to the Finals now carries significant weight with galleries, collectors and peers.
This year's Best in Show with an honorarium of $10,000 has been awarded to Dean Mitchell of the United States for his painting of an elderly woman, Rowena. With an honorarium of $3,000, The William Bouguereau Award - Emotion Theme and the Figure goes to Evan Wilson of the United States for his beautiful painting of a woman and a baby in a bed, entitled Anita and Elliot. Together with 3 Awards in each of the 5 Categories, plus the addition of 2 Chairman's Choice Awards and 5 ARC Staff Awards, the allotted prize amount in this year's ARC Salon™ has totaled more than $44,000.
If you are interested in submitting work for the 2007 ARC Salon™, keep an eye on the ARC website for upcoming announcements. From all across the world the very best of the best artists are now here for your viewing pleasure. We invite you to celebrate with us in honoring all of our Finalists and Award Winners for the incredibly high quality and timeless beauty found within this exhibit. On behalf of our Chairman, Fred Ross and everyone here at the Art Renewal Center® a well-deserved congratulations is extended to all of our Award winners and participants. We thank them for their dedication to the upholding of artistic traditions and values sought by ARC and wish them continued success in all their artistic endeavors.
Purchase Awards
ARC endeavored to purchase over $150,000 worth of award winning works in this year's ARC Salon, but to our disappointment, we were also pleasantly surprised to discover that each of the works had already been sold. Surely this is an indication of the growing success of the finest living artists of our time. In 2004 virtually every work that we chose, we were able to purchase. Last year, only half of the works picked for purchase were available. This year, every item chosen for that honor had already been snatched up by collectors.
This year we decided to add to the benefits of winning an ARC Scholarship, free entry into this year's ARC Salon, and the winner, Cody Swanson's Eve has also won this year's purchase award.