A Life Rediscovered: The Quiet Portraits of Benjamin Greenleaf For many years, the name Benjamin Greenleaf was associated with a prominent American educator and textbook author. It wasn’t until 1981 that art historians established him as a distinct individual – a largely self-taught portraitist who quietly documented the lives of New Englanders during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in Hull, Massachusetts on January 13, 1769, to Mary and John Greenleaf, his life initially appeared unremarkable. He attended Dartmouth College for a time but left before completing a degree, embarki…