Painter and Art Historian Nelson Shanks Conducts Live Painting Demonstration at Las Vegas' World of Art Showcase, Now thru 12/22

The ever-growing roster of celebrated artists at the World of Art Showcase (www.worldofartshowcase.com) now includes Nelson Shanks, a Pennsylvania-based realist painter who is one of only two American artists ever to be invited by the Russian Academy of Art in Moscow to stage an exhibition. His work, including portraits of Princess Diana, President Bill Clinton and the last portrait of Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich painted before his death, was simultaneously featured in 2011 at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Shanks is also a world renowned art historian, art teacher, connoisseur and collector. Aside from portraits, he is especially well known for exquisite figure paintings and complicated aesthetic still life. In 2006, Governor Edward G. Rendell presented Nelson with the Governor's Distinguished Arts Award, which recognizes a Pennsylvania artist of international fame or renown whose creations and contributions enrich The Commonwealth. Among those contributions noted were his lifelong commitment to teaching and his establishment of Studio Incamminati, founded by Nelson and his wife, Leona Shanks.

Other significant commissions Shanks has received include Luciano Pavarotti for the Metropolitan Opera and Denyce Graves for the National Portrait Gallery. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Royal Palace in Stockholm and Kensington Palace in London. One of his more recent commissions is a large painting of the four women of the U.S. Supreme Court which will be unveiled in Washington, D.C. in October.

"At the World of Art Showcase, while not only highlighting great visual art and artists, we are helping educate collectors with how, when and why to purchase paintings as investments as well as for aesthetic reasons," says World of Art Showcase Executive Director Mario Parga. "From his American and European education and faculty positions at major art institutes to his high profile work as a realist and the founding of Studio Incamminati, Nelson's dedication and contributions to both the art world and realism genre are unparalleled."

Tickets are now available online for the event, including discount hotel rates at www.worldofartshowcase.com.

Pictured: 'Salome' (2007, oil on canvas) by Nelson Shanks, 2012 World of Art Showcase artist