Oil vs. Pastel

[Molly Sherrick Phifer]

Here is another Daniel Greene portrait in pastel. This one is of William Steinberg, Conductor of the Pittsburg Symphony.

I agree with Jimmy about the under glass issue. Even though pastels can be displayed with non glare glass these days, most folks still shy away from them in settings where they are mounted up high or in hallways where it would be less than optimal viewing a work under glass. I wonder if there is also a tendency to view works under glass as less valuable somehow because people think of prints and photos when they think of works under glass. Not sure if that might be a factor.

Many times when an official portrait is commissioned, it is displayed with others. There is a tendency to go for uniformity of presentation and the fact that so many of these works are already oils makes the choice for oil that much more likely.