The Art Renewal Center® is pleased to present the winners and finalists of the 18th ARC Salon. The ARC received approximately 3,500 entries from 72 countries; 40% of those, 1,970 works, have been selected as semi-finalists. Our finalists comprise a select group of the very top-rated entries, 816 works in all, or approximately 23% of entries. Both finalists and semi-finalists have been published on the ARC website.
ARC has acquired nine new works for the ARC collection, including six ARC Purchase Awards and three MacAvoy Purchase Awards, totaling $75,850. Our highest award, Best in Show, a $25,000 prize generously donated this year by the MacAvoy Foundation, has gone to Sean Layh for his entry, Antigone. About this work, Layh says, “This painting reimagines Sophocles’ tragic heroine Antigone, shown standing defiantly in a grand, ruinous gallery. She cradles a child, an imaginative reference to her son, who appears in the lost Euripidean play The Epigoni, signifying the enduring consequences of resistance and legacy. Behind her hangs Antigone in front of the dead Polyneices (1865) by Nikiforos Lytras, anchoring the work within classical and art-historical tradition. The empty frame and scattered pages evoke erasure, forgotten memory, and the fragility of cultural inheritance. Through this layered composition, I depict the tension between private morality and public law, as well as the emotional aftermath of civil defiance. In addition to “Best in Show,” this work has won a number of awards from our partnering organizations, including an FWSD award and two magazine awards.
Consider joining the ARC for the live exhibition of approximately 100 of the best works from the combined 17th and 18th International ARC Salon Competitions. The exhibition is planned to open at Sotheby’s New York’s new flagship Madison Avenue location from July 17 to July 27, 2026, where we will hold our official award ceremony. This awe-inspiring international event will feature artists from around the world, showcasing the true international nature and collaborative spirit of this area of Contemporary Art. Established in 1744, Sotheby’s is the world’s largest and most dynamic marketplace for art and luxury. Updates and additional information about the exhibition can be found on the ARC’s Live Exhibition page.
The ÀNI Art Academies are excited to announce that several of our artists have been selected as winners as well!
Best Nude – Runner Up: Verðandi – Michael Carson – 16 x 12″ – Oil
Honorable Mention – Drawing: The Outcast – Methsara D Arachchige – 10 x 8″ – Charcoal and White Pastel
MacAvoy Foundation Purchase Award: The Enchanted Reader – Bethmini N. Dissanayake – 14 x 9″ – Charcoal and White Pastel
The MacAvoy Foundation is dedicated to the creation and preservation of beauty and history, supporting a variety of organizations that uphold classical values. The MacAvoy Foundation also supports artists who use timeless principles and masterful techniques, with a particular interest in fantastical, mythological, surreal, and historical subject matter. MacAvoy Foundation Purchase Awards will be selected by the Founder and President of the MacAvoy Foundation, Bob MacAvoy, and the MacAvoy Head of Arts Division, Bridget MacAvoy, in cooperation with the Art Renewal Center.
33PA Publishing Award: Little Margaret – H. K. Praneeth Maleesha – 11 x10″ – Charcoal and White Pastel
33PA (Poets and Artists) is an online platform and art community that provides publishing and marketing opportunities for artists. They have partnered with 33 Contemporary, offering artists online group shows on Artsy as well as exhibitions at fairs and in the new showroom in South Florida. The 18th ARC Salon awards were chosen by Dr. Samuel Peralta, physicist, arts curator, and founder of the Lunar Codex. 33PA will publish a commemorative catalogue of the artworks selected by Dr. Samuel Peralta for the prize. The catalogue will feature up to 10 artists whose work is primarily in contemporary realism, and the publication will include the artwork selected by Dr. Peralta, as well as information about the artists, including bios, interviews, and commentary on the work by Dr. Peralta.
We would also like to acknowledge ÀNI artists S. M. Hewa-Gamage, Kanishka Sandaruwan, Sophie Shand, and alumnus Maxwell Miller, who earned finalist spots this year!
Congratulations to all!!!!!
