Mattie Edwards Hewitt

Though she had placed herself before the camera many times during the 1910s, Greene was rarely photographed after she assumed the demanding position of director of the newly incorporated Pierpont Morgan Library in 1924. This photograph by Mattie Edwards Hewitt is part of the George Grantham Bain Collection, a massive archive of images of one of the earliest American news picture agencies.

It is not known exactly where Greene was headed in her mink stole and cloche hat on October 1, 1929, but that month she was busy with preparations for a week of activities in support of the Visiting Nurse Service of the Henry Street Settlement. The New York Times reported that the nurses made half a million visits each year “to the homes of those who are ill, without discrimination as to race or creed,” and cited Greene’s role on a planning committee that also included Louisa P. Satterlee, J. Pierpont Morgan’s oldest daughter. The committee arranged fashion shows, a symposium, and dinners to bring visibility to the visiting nurses program, and Greene threw open the doors of the Morgan Library for several days of special visits by supporters.