George Greene

"What I value most in painting is surprise, excitement, the experience of exploring and working with the subconscious. I find I haven't got much control over what I'm doing. Once I get into it, strange things happen. The painting takes over."
-George Greene

George Greene was successful as both a painter and a poet. He began to work in plastics in 1948 and exhibited in a pioneering show assembled by Bartlett Hays of the Addison Gallery in New York in 1949. Also, Greene was constantly experimenting with abstract acrylic and torn canvas paintings, all-white mobiles, and kite-like hanging sculptures. His works made their way into several museum collections, including the Guggenheim. He later began to make playful, abstract ink drawings, when brush and canvas became more difficult for him to manipulate. In 1983, a fire in his home in Princeton destroyed most of the artwork from his career of forty years. While he continued to paint, Greene focused on his poetry.

At the age of eighty-four, he was the only three-time winner of the well-known and highly competitive weekly poetry slams at Karla's Restaurant in New Hope. Many of his poems were published in the collection, Letters to Fitch and Other Poems.

Education and Training
Harvard University, 1927-1931
Cambridge University, England
Art Students League, New York, New York

Teachers and Influences
He studied poetry under I. A. Richards, Cambridge, England.
Willem DeKooning was a major influence on his art.

Connection to Bucks County
George Greene resided at Phillips' Mill in New Hope, and, in 1988 he moved across the river to Lambertville, New Jersey. He exhibited his canvases at Phillips' Mill, winning a prize in 1961. He was a member of the River Poets beginning in 1990, as well as the Second Sunday Poets in Lambertville. In 1992, Greene was the only three-time winner of the highly competitive weekly poetry slams at Karla's Restaurant in New Hope. He also became well-known for his Letters to the Editor of the Lambertville Beacon.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Judith and Philip Toy, poets
Elaine Restifo, painter/poet and editor of The River
Sons Jeffrey Greene (painter, sculptor and furniture maker) and Michael Greene

Major Solo Exhibitions
Green had 21 one-man shows, among them:
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, New York, 1979
Nordlist and Bodley Galleries, New York, New York,
Il Cavillino, Venice, Italy
Galeria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York
New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey
Princeton Gallery of Fine Arts, Princeton, New Jersey

Major Collections
The Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York

Poetry
Letters to Fitch and Other Poems, Cider Press, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1993

Affiliations and Memberships
River Poets, member
Second Sunday Poets, Lambertville, New Jersey, member

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Instructor at Lawrenceville School (for eighteen years), Lawrenceville, New Jersey; Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH; Princeton Art Association, Princeton, NJ; Edna Lewis' Positano Art Workshop, Italy

Major Awards
3-time winner of the weekly poetry slams at Karla's Restaurant in New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1992
Prize, Phillips Mill Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1961