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THE WORLD OF ART SHOWCASE’S ROSTER
OF LEGENDARY ARTISTS DIVERSIFIES WITH
DANIEL E. GREENE, A MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING OIL
AND PASTEL MASTER WHOSE WORK RANGES FROM
PORTRAITS OF CULTURAL ICONS TO HIS
ACCLAIMED RECENT SERIES ‘SUBWAY PAINTINGS’

* * *

The author of ‘Pastel’ and Oil Painters of America Hall
of Famer, Whose Portraits Include Eleanor Roosevelt,
William Randolph Hearst, Ayn Rand and Composer Alan Menken,
Will Exhibit More Than 30 of His Works at
The Wynn Las Vegas December 20-22 

Adding more prestigious, globally acclaimed artists to its roster of exhibitors by the week, the World of Art Showcase (www.worldofartshowcase.com) is proud to feature Daniel E. Greene, a multiple award-winning pastel and oils master, teacher and author who is legendary for his portraits of icons and equally renowned for more personal works, including the recent exhibition “Subway Paintings” at the New York Transit Museum at Grand Central Terminal-the inaugural event in the centennial year of the New York subway.

Greene will be exhibiting from 30 to 45 items representing his broad section of works at the debut of the World of Art Showcase, a unique celebration of the visual arts at The Wynn Las Vegas December 20-22.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have an artist of Daniel E. Greene’s mastery, expertise, history and expansiveness on our roster at the World of Art Showcase,” says the event’s Executive Director Mario Parga. “Daniel’s impact in the fields of both pastels and oil paintings is of great importance, with the Encyclopedia Britannica naming him the foremost Pastelist in the U.S. and American Artist magazine awarding him their first lifetime achievement award in the category of oil paintings. We’re also excited to show some of his ‘Subway Paintings,’ which are so compelling and original.”

Greene’s accolades over his nearly 60-year career are too many to list. A former instructor of painting at the National Academy of Design and the Arts Students League of New York (where he first studied in the mid-1950s), the North Salem, N.Y. resident is the author of “Pastel,” which was in print for 25 years and “The Art of Pastel,” both of which were published in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. In 1969, Greene, who now teaches students from all over the world at his studio, was elected to the National Academy of Design.

His achievements in the world of pastels include the Pastel Society of America electing him to the Pastel Hall of Fame in 1983; the Pastel Society of the West Coast naming him a Pastel Laureate in 2003; and representing the U.S. at the first International Biennial of Pastel in San Quentin, France in 1989. Greene’s notoriety as an oil painter specializing in portraits is similarly impressive. In 1992, he was awarded American Artist’s Magazine’s first Lifetime Achievement award in the category of oil painting and the Oil Painters of America Society inducted him to their Hall of Fame.

Three years later, the American Society of Portrait Artists presented him with the John Singer Sargent award for his lifelong dedication to the achievement of excellence in portraiture. In May 1999, Greene was the recipient of the Benjamin Clinedinst Medal of the Artist’s Fellowship at a presentation in New York City, and in 2001, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Portrait Society of America. In 2003, Greene was the annual honoree of the Salmagundi Club and was presented their Gold Medal.

On May 26, 1994 in a special White House ceremony, Greene presented to Hillary Rodham Clinton a pastel portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt. That portrait is now on display at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., while another he did of the former first lady is at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, N.Y. Greene’s high profile commissions over the years include leaders of government, banking, education, and industry. A few of his early works include astronaut Walter Schirra, author Ayn Rand and William Randolph Hearst. In addition to painting numerous governors, including the official portrait of former Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt that currently hangs in Carson City, two NYC mayors, many university presidents and Chairmen of the Boards from companies like IBM, Coca-Cola, Dupont, American Express and the NYSE, Greene has also done portraits for a unique array of pop icons, including Dave Thomas of Wendy’s, composer Alan Menken and TV personality Bryant Gumbel and Bob Schieffer of CBS.

In another unique pop culture coup, director George Lucas selected Greene to paint portraits of “Princess Leia” (Carrie Fisher) and “Queen Amidala” (Natalie Portman) for the new Abrams art book “Star Wars Visions.” Greene’s “Princess Leia” portrait is featured on the back cover of the recently published trade book and signed limited edition prints by Greene and realist painter Jamie Wyeth are offered in the deluxe edition.

Four highly successful exhibitions of Greene’s “Subway Paintings” appeared at Gallery Henoch in New York and were featured on ABC-TV, Fox News, PBS, CNN, New York 1, NHK TV Japan, and in over 50 international magazines and newspapers.

“In addition to the pastel work and the oil portraits I have been commissioned to do, I enjoy finding intriguing subjects that inspire me to create more personal paintings like the Subway Series,” says Greene. “I began doing the subway paintings twenty years ago and have done 115 to date. I rode the subways as an art student in NYC in the ’50s and I always noticed the beautiful mosaics on the platform. I kept thinking that one day I would paint them. Years later I went down there to paint a portrait of people sitting on the benches under a mosaic, and I became fascinated by the wealth of material there was to draw from in the subways, so I began a series. I do portrait commissions as they occur, but I also love choosing to paint subjects that interest me. One of those is auctions, including Sotheby’s, Christie’s and antique auctions. Those events are always very dynamic and colorful. I have also done a series on carnivals and people flying kites.”

Growing up in Cincinnati, Greene always knew he would become an artist but says he wasn’t exposed to much high quality art. The painter quickly made up for lost time when he came to NYC in 1953 to study at the Arts Students League-a time he calls “the beginning of my life.” He cites a wide range of influences in his works, including 17th Century greats Rembrandt, Diego Velazquez, El Greco and Johannes Vermeer. There was a time in his career when his work was divided evenly between pastels and oil paintings, but over the last ten years, he has concentrated primarily on oil painting.

Early in his career, he rose to the challenge of “trying to do in pastel things that other artists had been doing in oil” – and found great success in a time when few artists were concentrating on pastels. Over the years, however, he discovered the many advantages to working in oils. “One of the major problems I discovered in working with pastels was that I had to have a huge quantity of pastel colors to find a color and value to approximate the object or scene I was painting. With oil paintings one only needs 12 or 13 colors to mix tens of thousands of tints and shades. You need fewer materials to achieve results. Another limitation with pastels is that the surfaces are not available in large sizes so the size of the painting is restricted-whereas with oil, there are canvasses in any size. You also need glass covers to protect pastel pictures. I have concentrated on oils in recent years as I am doing larger and more ambitious works.”

Greene’s paintings and pastels are in over 700 public and private collections in the U.S. and overseas and he has traveled extensively across the globe-but the World of Art Showcase will be his very first time to visit Las Vegas. “I understand that there is a Renaissance of culture in Las Vegas, and I am excited to be participating in the World of Art Showcase, which is an important element in this movement. I’m looking forward to exhibiting my works to a new audience and among my peers whose works I admire. Most of my work is sold by galleries and I don’t often get a chance to meet individual collectors – the World of Art Showcase is a terrific opportunity to do that.

“I also like the idea that collectors will have an opportunity to ask us any questions they might have about the works they are considering, which will ultimately lend a sense of intimacy to the artist-collector connection,” he adds. “Being able to buy from us personally at the World of Art showcase will also allow them to circumvent the often high mark-ups that galleries put on our work. It’s a great arrangement for everyone.”

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