Art Renewal Center^®

Leading the Revival of Realism

Leading the revival of realism in the visual arts, the Art Renewal Center® (ARC), a 501(c)(3), non-profit, educational foundation, hosts the largest online museum dedicated to representational art and includes works by the old masters, 19^th century, and 21st Century Artists as well as articles, letters and other online resources. The ARC is the foremost and only vetting service for representational art schools ensuring that the teaching curricula and quality of teacher and student work meet our strict standards to become ARC ApprovedR. The ARC also runs the ARC Salon Competition, which is the largest and most prestigious competition in the world for realist artists painting, sculpting and drawing today with eleven categories and thousands of works competing, culminating in a live exhibition of many of the winning works. The ARC works with other ARC Allied OrganizationsTM, artist groups, museums, and publications to become a central news hub for the 21^st Century Representational Art Movement. Read the ARC Philosophy written by ARC Chairman, Frederick C. Ross, to learn why ARC is so passionately dedicated to representational art.

Most Recent Blog

Plaster Drawing Casts Published on 21 November, 2025

American sculptor Justin Ryan Kendall has spent years building a collection of plaster casts with the goal of making them available and affordable to students, artists, and lovers of art and art history. His fascination with these casts began during his time in Italy studying at the Florence Academy of Art. In the spring of 2021, the Fountainhead Gipsoteca was born, offering high quality reproductions of some of history's most important sculptures. The collection is filled with masks, busts, and fragments from sculptors like Michelangelo, Praxiteles, Rodin, Bernini, and Donatello. The casts, most often intended for art instruction, also make for timeless display in the home or studio.

Beginning on the evening of 11/27, ARC followers can visit @fountainheadgipsoteca on Instagram to take advantage of Black Friday deals. Throughout the weekend, there will be a seconds sale (blemished or slightly damaged casts at a discount) shared in the Instagram stories. Additionally, you can visit fountainheadcasts.com anytime and use promo code ARC for 10% off your order.

For more information on the event, click here.

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Museum

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The ARC Museum is the largest online museum dedicated completely to realist art work. It contains tens of thousands of images by thousands of artists and includes works by 19^th century and old master artists through our general search pages, as well as 21^st century realist works by our ARC Affiliated ArtistsSM.

News

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Our news section consists of two parts, the first being our News Blog where we post daily to keep our viewers informed on relevant topics about realist art and the second is our Events Calendar which is an interactive calendar listing of all the exciting realist art events taking place around the world including: exhibitions, lectures, open houses, competitions, artist demonstrations, video and podcast releases, publication releases, enrollment dates and more. The calendar can also be viewed in three ways, as a calendar, a general listing, or as a world map.

Education

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As a non-profit educational foundation, education is one of our primary goals. Here is where you can find our ARC ApprovedR School listing, ARChives where we have our articles, letters and more, The Da Vinci Initiative which focuses on skill-based learning in K-12 classrooms, artist interviews, artist demonstrations, podcasts, self help books and more.

About Us

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Find out more about the ARC and its staff. Learn about our mission and ARC philosophy. Find information on ARC Allied Organizations and how to contact us.

Competitions

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View the results of past and current ARC competitions or submit your entries here. The ARC holds two types of competitions. The ARC Scholarship Competition, held every May, gives thousands of dollars in direct financial aid to students attending ARC ApprovedR Schools. The International ARC Salon, the most prestigious realist art competition in the Americas and perhaps the world, offers over $100,000 in cash awards and International recognition through partnerships with prestigious magazines, galleries, museum exhibitions, and a strong online presence.