Allen Steinman working on a recent portrait of Dolly Parton (photo by Ellyn Hament).
In the recent best-selling novel “Theo of Golden,” the main character moves to a town where 92 pencil portraits of locals hang on a coffeehouse wall, all done by a resident artist. I won’t give away anything about the book, but I will say that Nyack has its own local, talented artist devoted to drawing portraits: Allen Steinman. Some of his portraits have been featured in exhibitions at the Historical Society of the Nyacks, others have gone to individuals, and some stay in his personal collection. He has drawn more than 600, including a recent portrait of Dolly Parton (right) and a portrait of local civil rights leader Dr. Frances Pratt (below).
A self-taught graphite portraitist, Allen had a prestigious career before he retired and began devoting most of his time to his lifelong love of art. He practiced orthodontics in Manhattan and Nyack, was associate professor of dentofacial orthopedics at Columbia University, and served as director of orthodontics and orthognathics at the Cleft Lip and Palate Center at Mount Sinai Hospital.
“I did orthognathic surgery, treating patients who had facial deformities, mainly cleft palates, protruding and receding jaws, or other facial issues,” he noted. The necessary attention to facial detail may have influenced his later artwork.
His father’s professional work retouching photos may have informed his art, too. Through high school and college, Allen worked with him retouching photos and negatives. And his exposure to art at an early age seems to have sparked his love of it. Growing up in Brooklyn, his father took the family to the Metropolitan Museum of Art because “it was free and the subway cost a dime. We took sandwiches, and we went from painting to painting and talked about them,” he noted. Perhaps because of that experience, he fell in love with the work of the Old Masters, particularly Rembrandt.
Still, Allen didn’t start drawing portraits until he retired at age 65, 21 years ago. He only draws portraits from photos, and works solely with a 6B pencil, erasers, Q-tips, and swabs.
Since he began his artistic career, Allen’s had three local exhibitions at the Historical Society of the Nyacks: one in December 2021 called “Nyack Notables” (24 portraits of prominent figures from Nyack’s history) and two more in 2025: one for Black History month featuring 25 portraits of influential national and local Black Americans, and another called “The Many Faces of Nyack” showcasing 52 portraits of past and current Nyackers from all walks of life, including author Toni Morrison (at right).
He has binders full of his beautiful portraits, including one that won an award from online store dickblick.com, and another that he sent to former President Obama and some of his staff, receiving in return an autographed photocopy of Allen’s portrait plus thanks from the former president.
Allen has also drawn a portrait of September 11 hero Welles Crowther (at right), who grew up in Nyack and was an equities trader and volunteer fireman credited with saving as many as 18 lives during the World Trade Center attacks before dying when one of the towers collapsed.
“Welles’ mother came to the exhibition at the Historical Society, loved the drawing of her son, and wanted it. I had already donated it to the Historical Society, but I did another one for her. This year is the 25th anniversary of September 11. They’re having a special exhibition at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, and my portrait of Welles will be included,” he said proudly.
These days, Allen usually draws one portrait a week from photos he finds online, or by request. Each one takes about three days, on and off, to lay out, draw, and touch up. He’d like to exhibit his work again at some point, somewhere in Nyack. For now, there are no plans. Still, he’s busy drawing, particularly legacy portraits of people who have passed away, for charity. He draws the portraits from old family photos bringing to life those dearly missed.
“Charity work is very important to me, very meaningful. It’s mostly what I do these days,” he said.
For one organization, the charity is all in the family. His daughter lives in San Antonio, Texas. She’s the chief fundraiser for SA Life Academy, which provides learning opportunities to help individuals with intellectual and development disabilities live full and active lives. The money goes to the organization.
In another act of artistic kindness, Allen recently drew a portrait of Christine Cordey (at left) at the Christine Cordey Salon on South Broadway and gifted it to her. She did not request it; Allen’s wife is a client and asked Christine if he could draw her. “Theo of Golden” is one of Christine’s favorite books, which made the portrait even more meaningful.
“It was the nicest gift ever. I still can’t find the words to thank him,” Christine said. The portrait (at left) now hangs proudly in her salon.
Much of Allen’s work is viewable on Facebook. If you’re interested in commissioning a portrait, please contact him at allensteinman469@gmail.com. In lieu of paying Allen for the portrait, a tax-deductible contribution to the SA Life Academy will be requested with a fee, dependent on the portrait’s complexity, quoted in advance.
