The Art Renewal Center (ARC) has a prominent online presence, where it showcases the winners and finalists of its annual International ARC Salon Competition,artists from around the world who represent the top contemporary realists working today.
Christopher Evans, Artemis Alone at the River of Extinction, 2025, oil on canvas, 62 x 48 in.
Every other year, ARC presents the best 100 works from the last two iterations of the competition in a live, in-person exhibition and sale. Featuring select pieces from the 17th and 18th annual International ARC Salon Competition, the 2026 event will take place July 17 through 27 at Sotheby’s in New York at its new flagship location in the iconic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue. About half of the artwork in the exhibition will be for sale (the others are on loan from private collections) through the Sotheby’s website beginning July 10 and will remain available through the duration of the exhibition.
A place in this year’s exhibition was offered to the top award recipients, as well as the first-, second- and third-place winners from each of the competition’s 11 categories that include figurative, portraiture, imaginative realism, drawing, landscape, still life, plein air painting, fully from life, sculpture, animals and a special category for teens.
Darcie Peet, Lavender Twilight, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in.
Works in the exhibition include the Best in Show from the 17th ARC Competition, Pavel Sokov’s Watching the Dance, a poignant painting that captures a young girl in Ethiopia, and the Best in Show from the 18th ARC Salon Competition, Sean Layh’s Antigone, which reimagines Sophocles’ tragic heroine under the arches of a grand gallery in disarray.
Western art will be represented by Darcie Peet’s oil Lavender Twilight, which won first place in the landscape category in the most recent competition. The painting was inspired by a river scene glimpsed in the Canadian Rockies. “Almost out of daylight the landscape was transformed into many soft shades of muted purple, lavender and blue creating such a sense of utter quiet and stillness,” describes Peet. “This sense of calm was only interrupted by the remnants of sun brilliantly gleaming across the many zigzagging water channels creating linear, ribbon patterns of light across the broad river plain.”
A packed house for the announcement of award winners.
Christopher Evans’ Artemis Alone at the River of Extinction, which took home Best Social Commentary for highlighting the plight of endangered species, has some themes that Western fans should appreciate, including the outdoor setting.
“Year after year, artists return to participate in our Salon and spread the word to their friends,” says ARC Salon director Angela Swanson Jones. “Consequently, our Salon and exhibition showcases an astonishing depth and breadth, not just in categories offered, but in medium, style, interpretation and multi-national participation…This exhibition aims to bring much deserved attention to talented artists, and visitors will experience first-hand some of the best examples of contemporary realism worldwide.”
An opening reception will be held July 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. On July 25, in a collaboration with Fashion Week San Diego,original couture pieces inspired by award-winning artworks will be featured in a live fashion show at Sotheby’s New York on July 25.
Visitors admire artwork from the ARC Salon.
Visit the ARC website for details. —
17th/18th International ARC Salon Exhibition
July 17-27, 2026
Sotheby’s New York
945 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021
(732) 636-2060, www.artrenewal.org
Powered by Froala Editor
