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

114th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition Published on 11 June, 2025

Since its 1909 inauguration, the California Art Club has been dedicated to promoting and supporting contemporary-traditional fine art by championing paintings and sculptures featuring representational practices. The Gold Medal Exhibition showcase will spotlight more than 160 never-before-exhibited paintings and sculptures, selected by an esteemed panel of art scholars and artists, who reviewed more than 500 submissions from nationally renowned representational artists as well as rising stars.

During the run of the exhibition, educational programs will be presented to foster a greater understanding for traditional art. These activities will include demonstrations on classical art skills and the popular “Meet the Artists” series, in which Gold Medal artists will be in the exhibition galleries every Saturday to talk about their creative processes and answer questions about the works on view.

All artworks are available for acquisition and a portion of the proceeds benefit the California Art Club’s educational programming. For more information about the Gold Medal Exhibition, the featured artwork and related programs, visit californiaartclub.org/goldmedal.

The exhibition takes place at VEFA Gallery, 21825 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA, 90503 from June 11- August 9, 2025.

To learn more, click here.

Visit the ARC Calendar for more information.

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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.