The Art Renewal Center® is proud to present the award winners and finalists in our fourth International ARC Salon™ Competition. This year we had 1,643 entries by 596 artists.
We are encouraged by the quality of work submitted in this year's competition, in fact the judges had the hardest time ever selecting the winners. As a result, next year we are considering adding a semi-finalist tier to help narrow the field before the final choices are made. 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 Cody Swanson of The United States for his clay sculpture of, Adam. With an honorarium of $3,000, The William Bouguereau Award - Emotion Theme and the Figure goes to Christopher Pugliese of the United States for his beautiful multi-figure painting of several nudes, entitled The Persistent Dream of Youth. 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 2008 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.