Wednesday, March 18, 2009

When Portraits are a Requirement...

...please consider spending $5,000 to $15,000 on me, rather than $50,000 to $100,000 on Daniel Greene!

From: http://thestevies.com/CXONews/February2006FullText.html --

PORTRAIT OF THE CXO AS A SUCCESSFUL MAN (OR WOMAN)

Having your portrait painted is often a necessity for the CXO who has reached a certain level of success, and is perhaps a more popular custom in the United States than in other countries. It is a requirement, rather than the ego trip some might think. We spoke to practitioners of the art to find out more.

Daniel E. Greene, NA

Daniel Greene is one of the best known and most experienced portrait artists in the United States, and could probably write a book on the illustrious people he has had in his studio. These range from heads of state, to media personalities such as Bob Schieffer and Rush Limbaugh, and to senior executives of corporations such as American Express, IBM, Dupont and Wendy’s. If studio walls had ears, his would have some stories to tell.

A former president of the American Association of Certified Accountants once told Daniel that while sitting for his portrait he had decided to write his autobiography. The opening chapter was set in the studio as he was being painted, and everything else that happened in his life occurred as flashbacks.

That was in the days when Daniel worked out of his former studio in New York City. Nowadays, he travels to the sitter’s location with a photographer for a session of carefully chosen digital images. From these he selects about twenty-five of the most suitable, the final image to be used being approved by the sitter. This speeds up the process: a portrait that once took up to ten sessions over several months now takes about three to four months to complete, with a last sitting at Greene’s Westchester studio for the final touches.

Daniel Greene works mostly in oils, and occasionally in pastels. A half-figure portrait will cost from $35,000, but the average three-quarter-length portrait will range between $45,000 to $67,500, depending on the complexity of the background. Each portrait has a guarantee of satisfaction. If the sitter is not satisfied, he can return the portrait without paying, but that has not happened so far.
Daniel Greene’s work has been exhibited around the world, His portraits of Eleanor Roosevelt are on exhibition at Hyde Park, and a compilation of his famous “Subway Series” paintings was used on the front and back covers of the Official Guide to the 2004 Republican National Convention. You can view more samples of his work at his website, www.danielgreeneartist.com.