Mildred C. Green (1874-1951)

This painting, which is on public view here for the first time, has been in a private collection for more that 75 years. It is a late addition to the exhibition At the Water’s Edge: Paintings and Drawings by Mildred C. Green. The painting depicts steamships being repaired and built at the Buffalo Drydock Company or another similar location.

The work was used as an illustration for the Marine Trust Company Calendar in 1920. The Marine Trust Company building (now the Marin) in the center distance, designed by Buffalo architects Green & Wicks and completed around 1913, was the home of both the Marine Trust Company and the American Steamship Company.

The boat at the center in drydock is named after one of the founders of American Steamship, Adam E. Cornelius (1882-1953), who also happens to be the grandfather of one of the current owners of the piece. The ship may have been recently acquired, and may have been in drydock for the hull to be painted black.  It was probably in for a short period of time because smoke can be seen from the boilers which are still lit, as firing and cooling boilers is a lengthy process. Two other vessels can be seen at various stages of construction, with a canal boat or ferry in the lower distance as well.

As we celebrate the first solo show of this artist, more than 70 years after the end of her life, it is exciting to find out that there are other unknown examples of her work in our community, and that an exhibition like this can bring them together. Do you own a work by Mildred Green? Contact Tullis Johnson, curator of the exhibition if you’d like to share it at: johnsote@buffalostate.edu or 716-878-3244.