Walter Olin Green was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1905. His formal training began at the Pratt School of Art in New York City. He established a studio in Hartford, Connecticut, where he held several exhibits sponsored by the Harford Women's Club and he was an active member of the Connecticut Art Students League. In 1933, he was sponsored by James Goodwin McManus, N.A., for membership pin the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. Green was a protégé of Will Taylor, creator of the famous murals in the New York Museum of Natural History, and Max Herman, a Salmagundi member. His early work was deeply influenced by these two artists, as well as the New York watercolorist, Ann Fisher, with whom he had studied at Pratt. Later, Green exhibited with the National Water Color Society of New York. He also studied under Max Beckmann and Hans Hofmann.

Following his service during WWII, he was discharged at Buckley Air Field in Denver, Colorado where he resumed his art career. He joined the faculty of the Emily Griffith Opportunity School where he taught for several years. His final years of teaching were in the Art Department of the University of Northern Colorado.

He was a member of the renowned groundbreaking group in Denver: Fifteen Colorado Artists and was instrumental in the formation of Denver's Artists Equity Association, a branch of the national organization, and served as its first President. He created murals for Colorado College and the University of Northern Colorado and served as the art chairman of the PBS series, "Artists: Today and Yesterday." Green was the recipient of the Duplers Award bestowed by the Cheyenne Art Guild in 1950, the Creative Achievement Award from UNC, and co-recipient of the UNC President's Award. In 1994, he was also co-recipient of an award from the Colorado Watercolor Society on its 40th anniversary.

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