According to Nielsen ratings, "The Art of Making Art" was watched by 9.17 million viewers and held 3.0 rating between 18 and 49 years of age. The episode was competing against "Sunday Night Football" on NBC, which averaged 12.47 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/13 share, "The Good Wife" on CBS, which was watched by 9.77 million viewers but held a 2.0 rating, and Game 4 of the "2011 World Series" on Fox which was watched by 15.16 million viewers and held 4.2/11 rating in the 18-49 demographic.. The ratings were up from the previous episode "School of Hard Knocks", which had set a series low in total viewers and in the 18-49 demographic. The slight increase in ratings was largely due to the lead in from the series premiere of "Once Upon a Time" at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central on ABC which was watched by 12.93 million viewers and received a 4.0 in the 18-49 demographic. The episode gained an additional 2.1 million viewers and 0.9 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings.