PORT READING, NJ.- The International 2009/2010 ARC Salon® 6th Annual Competition is now open for entries. This year a new category has been added for Animal Art. All entries must be postmarked by October 31, 2009.
The International ARC Salon® is a virtual version of the 19th Century Paris Salon. Last year's ARC Salon® drew over 1600 entries from more the 30 countries. Young gifted artists who are just now beginning their careers and some of the most legendary and well-respected artists alive today are 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.

ARC Chairman, Fred Ross comments on the 2008/2009 ARC Salon: "… The level of skill and quality that we see coming in from all parts of the world, confirms what we have known for some time now: that Humanist, Classical, Traditional Realism is back in full force. It's the only paradigm of fine art capable of expressing the full range of human ideas, beliefs, concepts, values, and emotions. And despite the claims it its enemies, it has not now, nor ever could have "all been done", any more than it would be true to say it has "all been written" in literature."-

The Art Renewal Center®, a 501c3 Educational Foundations, was founded in 1999 for the advancement of traditional representational art. ARC hosts the ARC Salon® Competition annually and posts the results at www.artrenewal.org, an internationally famous website which is frequented by over 5,000,000 visitors a year. Award Winners and Finalists will be featured on the Art Renewal Center® website and in a full color exhibition catalogue.

ARC Salon Awards:
Best in Show: $10,000 cash award plus gallery space in the Museum section of the ARC's website. Gallery space will include the artist's biographical information accompanied by 1 to 5 web pages of the artist's finest works.

The William Bouguereau Award - Emotion, Theme, and the Figure: $3,000.

6 First Place Awards: $2,500 awarded in each category.

6 Second Place Awards: $1,000 awarded in each category.

6 Third Place Awards: $500 awarded in each category.

Chairman's Choice Award: 2 Awarded at $500 each.

ARC Staff Award: 4 Awarded at $100 each.

Minimum of $10,000 in Purchase Awards
*Works do not have to be for sale to be eligible for the competition. Purchase awards will be chosen from the finalists by our four judges and awarded at the sole discretion of the ARC's Chairman, Fred Ross.

30 Honorable Mentions: Award winners will receive an Award Certificate and have their winning artwork accompanied by their name displayed on the ARC website.
Top 100 Finalists will have their entry accompanied by their name displayed on the ARC website and will also be featured in the 2009 ARC Salon® Catalog.