About Us

Our Name

The term "Realist" or "Realism" has taken on myriad meanings in art history and contemporary art. However, we felt this term still best acknowledged the direction of the kind of art we aim to preserve and cultivate and therefore decided to name ourselves the Realist Art Resource. Under our use of the term "Realist" we like to group many movements and styles all of which sprung from skill-based training, these include: Academic Painting (think Bougeaureau and Bargue), French Realism (think Breton and Bastien-Lepage), Naturalism (Stanhope Forbes & Newlyn School), and the "Peredvizhniki" (think Repin and Levitan). Today these traditions are being carried on by painters who identify as being part of: Classical Realism, Contemporary Realism, Academic Realism, Postcontemporary Art, Traditional Realism, Figurative Art, Academic Realism, and again Realism. We hope that you enjoy these styles of painting as much as we do and will support them just by sharing the RAR website.

Charles Bargue. "A Bashi-Bazouk". 1875. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ilya Repin. "Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin." 1884. Gift of Humanities Fund Inc., 1972. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Jules Breton. "A Peasant Girl Knitting". ca. 1870. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Charles Bargue. "A Bashi-Bazouk". 1875. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Realist Art Resource?

The Realist Art Resource is a noncommerical educational database, which aims to promote skill-based studio art training and traditional representational art.

Can you add my school to your listings?

All of RAR's listings depend, in part, on public submissions. We review every school on a case by case basis. We do not require a set curriculum to be included on our free listing. Instead, we review visual evidence (usually a website is sufficient), which we then use to judge the ability of the teacher and students. We aim to include schools that abide by the pedagogies of 18th and 19th century ateliers and academies, but understand that most of these have been adapted to contemporary lifestyles and more modern training methods.

Note: At this time RAR does not list workshops or museum classes.

If I have been rejected from the RAR listing can I reapply?

Generally speaking, there are only a few reasons why a school will be rejected. These reasons include: lack of visual evidence, the provided visual evidence does not meet the level of skill required to be listed, or the style of art being taught does not coincide closely enough with that of RAR's intended direction. If you feel your institution has been unfairly declined you are welcome to resubmit with additional visual evidence that differs from that of the website.

Can you add my competition to your listings?

RAR includes competitions in it's listings on a case by case basis. If we feel that your competition is in line with the art RAR aims to promote, we will include it within a week of it's submission. Generally, we try to include competitions that cater specifically to classically trained artists working in a traditional representational style. That being said, we do include a few competitions that support more variety. This is due to the fact that they are internationally recognized and present an especially large opportunity for classically trained artists.

Can you add my art supply store to your listings?

To be included on RAR's "Art Materials" listings you must carry professional grade artist's materials. Art suppliers catering to hobbyists, and selling "student grade" materials will not be included. Art supply store submissions will be judged on a case by case basis. For a list of quality art supplies that you may want to add to your inventory see our listings here.