Recent Work by Daniel E. Greene at John Pence Gallery
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. – On Thursday, January 10, the John Pence Gallery, 750 Post Street, will open a much-awaited exhibition of recent oil and pastel paintings by the eminent painter, teacher and portraitist Daniel E. Greene. The artist will be present at a reception on January 10, 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition will continue through February 9.
Greene is an art legend. His long, distinguished and storied career has placed him atop the current coterie of American realist painters. Many perceive him as a pillar of strength in the revival and resurgence of the American realist movement. Stalwarts of this movement have studied with Greene at one time or another and, during his illustrious career he has been commissioned by numerous personages and institutions who desire Greene portraits to add to America’s pictorial history.
Greene comes from a long line of academically trained painters. It is possible to trace the direct lineage from Thomas Eakins to Robert Henri and George Bellows, to Robert Brackman and then to Greene. These men were the teaching leaders around whom the American realist movement revolved and are the foundations on which academic American art has been built. Greene ranks with the best and will be remembered for his pivotal role.
Greene is a figure painter without parallel. His ability to relate a story in the content of a painting is reminiscent of John Koch. In his epic “Dutch Vase,” he brilliantly conveys the interactions and emotions of a live auction in New York, where art as an object is coveted by competing collectors. His prowess with the figure has led to portrait commissions for leaders of government, banking, education, industry and the arts. Among his subjects are Eleanor Roosevelt, Astronaut Walter Schirra, Ayn Rand, William Randolph Hearst, as well as numerous governors, mayors and luminaries in every conceivable field of endeavor.
This exhibition will include figures, interiors, florals and still lifes. His knowing eye and practiced hand bring an expertise to his work borne out of a lifetime of devotion to the craft of painting. Greene is a vivid colorist whose unique conceptions and radically personal compositions are strong, winsome and display a technical virtuosity that set these new works apart.
Viewers in galleries and museums are stopped in their tracks when they begin to fully sense the immense amount of intricate detail that he interweaves with his poignant themes. Greene, in his 60s, tackles a myriad of subjects in a forthright manner and the sustained enthusiasm of a still youthful observer.
He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Stacey Foundation Grant, the John Singer Sargent Award, the Artists’ Fellowship Medal, the Gold Medal of the American Portrait Society and American Artist Magazine’s First Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1983, the Pastel Society of American elected him to the Pastel Hall of Fame, the first living artist so honored. In 1992, the Oil Painters of America Society named him to their Hall of Fame. He is one of only a select few who have been elected to the National Academy of Design.
This will be Greene’s first comprehensive one-man exhibition in California. He has shown extensively in the United States and has exhibited in England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and other nations abroad. His work has been collected by museums in New York, Cincinnati, Georgia, Norfolk, Vermont, Washington, D.C., Montreal and the White House.
The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm. Special viewing appointments are available at 415-441-1138.
