Benjamin Greenleaf

Four years later he produced his earliest known portrait, that of his great-uncle Jacob Goold, a resident of Weymouth.

He was active at least until 1818, and is known to have traveled extensively throughout New England, particularly the vicinity of Boston; he is also traced in New Hampshire, in the communities of Hanover and Hopkinton, and in the Maine towns of Bath, Phippsburg, Paris, and Portland.

A diary entry from Samuel Adams of Bath, dated 1816, suggests that he might have received lodging in at least partial exchange for his painting, and he is known to have been active there the following year as well.

Little is known about his business transactions; his career has been documented mainly using the paper labels affixed to the backs of his portraits.

[1] Besides oil on canvas, Greenleaf favored the technique of reverse glass painting, and the majority of his fifty-six documented works are in this medium.