Greene, Christopher (1737-1781)
Role: Revolutionary War HeroDates:
Portrait Location: Library-Annex
Artist: Lincoln, James Sullivan (1811-1888)
Portrait Date: 1863
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Framed Dimensions:
Brown Portrait Number: 20
Brown Historical Property Number: 1318
Christopher Greene was a native of Warwick, Rhode Island, and represented Warwick in the colonial legislature for many terms. Greene joined the patriot forces at the outbreak of war with England and advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the war he spent some time as a British prisoner and, after he was freed, was killed during an attack made under his command. Greene was remembered as having "a character in which fortitude and mildness were blended."
James Sullivan Lincoln was originally from Taunton, Massachusetts, but apprenticed as an engraver in Providence from the age of fourteen. In 1837, he turned to full-time painting. From that moment until his death, he reigned as Providence's premier portraitist. In his later years he often painted from photographs, producing portraits that are considered less strong than his earlier works. His portrait of Greene was copied from an original oil painting by an unknown artist owned by Greene's grandson, Simon Henry Greene. Simon Greene gave Lincoln's work to Brown in 1863.