Ben Jenkins III, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Queens University, Charlotte, North Carolina 

Daniel Greene painted this portrait of Ben Jenkins III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Queens University, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Portraiture is an art form with a long and complex history and often plays a crucial role in shaping public perception and reinforcing social hierarchies. Greene's traditional approach to portraiture, with its emphasis on realism and attention to detail, is a style often commissioned by institutions seeking to project an image of stability. The composition, with Jenkins posed in a suit, evokes a sense of authority and decorum. The cultural context is important here. Queens University, like many institutions of higher learning, has its own history and traditions, which can be researched in the University archives, along with the personal papers of figures such as Jenkins. Understanding the social conditions that shape artistic production, particularly within institutional settings, will allow us to understand art's broader public role.