James Green (1771–1834) was an English artist, known as a portrait-painter.

Life

Born at

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, 13 March 1771, he was son of a builder. He was apprenticed to

Thomas Martyn Thomas Martyn (23 September 1735 – 3 June 1825) was an English botanist and Professor of Botany at Cambridge University. He is sometimes confused with the conchologist and entomologist of the same name. Life Thomas Martyn was the son of th ...

, who taught natural history painting, at 10 Great Marlborough Street. At the end of his apprenticeship, Green entered the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

. He attracted the notice of

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, and in time copied many of his pictures. Green gradually attained a good reputation for his portraits in watercolour. He resided for many years in South Crescent,

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

, in London. Green died at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

on 27 March 1834. He was buried in Wolcot Church.

Works

In 1792 Green first exhibited at the Royal Academy, sending views of Oxford Market and Chapel; in 1793 he exhibited views of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, and some portraits. Many of Green's portraits were engraved, including those of: *

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

, and Sir Richard Birnie, both engraved in mezzotint by William Say; * George Cook the actor, as Iago, engraved in mezzotint by

James Ward James Ward may refer to: Military *James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1864) (1833–?), American Civil War sailor * James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1890) (1854–1901), American Indian Wars soldier *James Allen Ward (1919–1941), New Zealand pilot and Vi ...

; * Joseph Charles Horsley, the stolen child, engraved by R. Cooper. Thomas Stothard by James Green

In the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

there are portraits by him of

Thomas Stothard Thomas Stothard (17 August 1755 – 27 April 1834) was an English painter, illustrator and engraver. His son, Robert T. Stothard was a painter ( fl. 1810): he painted the proclamation outside York Minster of Queen Victoria's accession to the t ...

, and

Sir John Ross Sir John Ross (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and polar explorer. He was the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to Antarctica. Biography Ear ...

, the latter being Green's last work. The portrait of Stothard was engraved by

Edward Scriven Edward Scriven (Alcester 1775 – 23 August 1841 London) was an English engraver of portraits, in the stipple and chalk manner. Scriven was the pre-eminent engraver of his generation, with 210 portraits ascribed to him by the National Port ...

for ''The Library of the Fine Arts'', April 1833. Green painted large subject pictures in oil, including ''Zadig and Astarte'', exhibited 1826, and engraved in the ''Literary Souvenir'', 1828; ''Béarnaise Woman and Canary'', engraved in the ''Literary Souvenir'', 1827, and ''Belinda''. His picture of ''The Loves conducted by the Graces to the Temple of Hymen'' was painted in water-colour. Green also was a frequent exhibitor at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

, and in 1808 was awarded a premium of £60. He was a member of the Associated Society of Artists in Water-Colours. Many of his pictures were commissions, notably from Francis Chaplin of

Riseholme Riseholme is a small village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish was 450 at the 2011 census. It is situated approximately north from the city and county town of Lincoln. R ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

Family

In 1805 Green married Mary, second daughter of William Byrne. She was a pupil of Arlaud, and was a miniature-painter, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1795 to 1835.L. H. Cust, ‘Green, James (1771–1834)’, rev. John Sunderland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 1 March 2015
/ref> On her husband's death she retired from her profession, and died 22 October 1845, being buried at

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

. Her copies after Joshua Reynolds and

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

were valued. Their children were Benjamin Richard Green and a daughter.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, James 1771 births 1834 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters People from Leytonstone 19th-century English male artists