You've heard of art history. Twenty-six Arlington public school students have made it.

Dave Ardito, interim director of visual arts, said the Arlington results in the 2012 Boston Globe Scholastic Awards this year are the best ever in town.

See a series of amazing examples of student art here >>

He said exceptional performance includes numerous gold and silver keys and many honorable mentions.

Of 26 awards, 22 went to Arlington High students and four to Ottoson students. 

The competition is considered to be one of the most prestigious student art competitions at the state and national levels. Gold Key and Silver Key winning students were honored at ceremony at the John Hancock Hall in Boston on March 11.

The parent sponsor for this competition is the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, which celebrates the creative achievement of America’s teens. The Scholastic Awards were founded in 1923 to offer recognition and scholarships for students for their artistic talents.

Students who excel in the visual arts and creative writing participate in the awards to earn recognition, get their work exhibited or published and to earn scholarships. This year almost 14,000 images were submitted statewide in the various media categories created by over 6,500 individual students.

Superintendent Kathleen Bodie praised teachers and students as she told the School Committee March 8 about the recognition.

A link to the announcement at the schools' website provides some details, but not the students' names. Policy prohibits names on the schools' website, but the School Committee is reviewing that and heard a proposal March 8 that would loosen the restriction.

Congratulations went to Annie Rebola, Nancy Muise, David Moore at AHS and Alecia Serafini at Ottoson. They supported their students by entering their work in the competition and helping them reach this level of achievement.

Congratulations also went to all art teachers in the town's public schools for their work in preparing these students for this high level of performance. Student artwork is displayed monthly in the School Committee room.

Names of winners

The high school winners were:

Julian Bloom, photography, NYC Glass, honorable mention

Kate Barvick, Ceramics & Glass, Snake Pot with Pronged Handle, Silver Key

Samuel Berard, Photography, Untitled, Silver Key

Nicholas Bertini, Ceramics & Glass, A Roman Water Jug, honorable mention

Aidan Cuffe, Sculpture, Support Silver Key

Lena Giguere, Painting, Rhythm, honorable mention

Christina Hernekamp, Photography, Foot, honorable mention

Linnea Kirby, Design, Un Jeu avec La Mort, honorable mention

Elena LaCourt, Drawing Male Figure, Gold Key

Elena LaCourt, Drawing Female Figure, Gold Key

Tianna Liu, Sculpture, Time Loop, honorable mention

Tianna Liu, Drawing, Self-Portrait, honorable mention

Aiden O’Day, Mixed Media, Untitled, honorable mention

Laura Shriver, Photo Portfolio, Gold Key

Jayda Smith-Senat, Drawing, My Careless Expression, honorable mention

Quentin Stipp, Digital Art, Worlds Apart, honorable mention

Quentin Stipp, Drawing, Valley of Dreams, Gold Key

Quentin Stipp, Art Portfolio, Gold Key

Katja Swartz, Drawing, Portrait, Silver Key

Katja Swartz, Painting, Pepper Painting, Silver Key

Olivia Tyson, Photography, "Cornered," Gold Key

Kristjana Xhuveli, Drawing, Time Travel, honorable mention

The Ottoson Middle School winners were:

John Angell, Drawing, Self-Portrait, honorable mention

Yoonah Choi, Drawing ,Self-Portrait, honorable mention

Sorrel Galantowicz, Printmaking, Print of an Early Memory, Gold Key

Clinton Garrahan, Ceramics & Glass, Shark, honorable mention

The student art is part of an exhibition in the State Transportation Building, 10 Park Plaza, downtown Boston, through Friday, April 20. The hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, noon - 4 p.m.

For more information, visit the Scholastic web site.

This story was first published Tuesday, March 13, 2012, and updated two days later to add the students' names. A link to a series of photos was added March 20.