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I'm a little late to this one but I wanted to say that the reason your grandfather's works so well--even better, in my opinion, than the one from the modern art gallery, is that the figure is not only a strong color but a LARGE, strong color. It is also separated from the small strong colors by a halo around her head which helps to focus the eye. In the case of your portrait, if you want to keep the background brighter in honor of your grandfather's style, then my suggestion is this:
Where the figure is so realistic, make sure the background is crisp (as was suggested before). Also, make sure the background colors are very close in hue and value to each other. For example, an orangey pink and a reddish pink both of the same value. Then, if possible, reserve the darkest and/or lightest values for the figure. I would also be sure to add some reflected bright colors onto the skin of the figure or it will look forced onto a fake background. A matching halo of similar shapes but slightly different values, like your grandfather's, might not be a bad idea, either.
Just my two cents. And given inflation, it might only be worth .000000002 cents.
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