Biography

Little is known of JOHN GREEN's early life or the circumstances of his birth. He was living in Philadelphia by the 1750s, when Benjamin West drew a portrait of him which is now in the collection of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. By 1765, Green had settled in Bermuda but spent about a year in London, from 1774 to 1775. It was during this time that he renewed his friendship with West.

Less than a dozen of Green's paintings survive, with those dated spanning a ten-year period from the time he returned to Bermuda in 1775 to 1785, when he appears to have stopped painting upon his appointment as Collector of Customs. A year later, in 1786, Green became a judge of the Vice-Admiralty, a position he served until his death in 1802.

Of his works that remain, two are portrait miniatures and the rest are members of Green's family. Most of these were donated back to the Bermudian government by his descendants and they remain at his Bermuda residence, Verdmont, which is owned by the Bermuda National Trust.

Source: Bonhams Auctioneers, July 2016