WALTER GREENE (1870-1956)

Of this artist, John Gruber of Madison, Wisconsin writes: "When I was editor of 'Vintage Rails' magazine, I wrote a biographical sketch of Walter Greene. This appeared in No. 1, Fall 1995, pages 58-59, "The Dramatic Industrial Art of Walter Greene." The following information is taken from that article:

Walter Greene, from Schenectady, New York, managed the art department of General Electric for 37 years beginning 1903, but in the 1920s broadened his efforts by producing paintings for both GE and the New York Central Railroad. He did nearly all the calendar paintings for GE's annual calendar, which in 1929, circulated 100,000 copies. In 1921, the New York Central Railroad started its calendar project, which Walter Greene took over in 1925.

From 1925 to 1927, Greene's painting of a New York Central Class T electric locomotive appeared on the cover of the "American Flyer" toy-train catalog, and a painting done in 1928 was used by the U.S. Navy on its recruiting poster.

Walter Greene attended the Massachusetts State Normal School's Academy of Art in Boston and had his first job with the Forbes Lithographing Company as a commercial artist. Walter then studied in France and Italy for two years before taking the job with General Electric.

Despite his accomplishments as an illustrator, Walter Greene has received little attention from the world of fine arts.