Gene Riche Monahan's House

Gene Richie Monahan, born and raised in Duluth, was not long out of high school before she was winning national recognition for her painting. She earned her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Art at the University of Minnesota. Her marriage to George Monahan (son of Doctors Robert and Elizabeth Monahan, who founded the Northern Minnesota Hospital in 1909 in International Falls) in 1934 brought her to Rainy Lake for the first time, and its spell never left her. She continued her painting and teaching while raising her family in Minnesota, Alaska, and Colorado. In 1953, when the family moved to New York City Gene continued to study and paint. For 3 years she painted 5 days a week at the National Academy School of Fine Arts under Robert Philipp and Louis Bouche, and during her ten years living in NYC and having a studio in Greenwich Village, Gene's recognition as a portrait painter became widespread. National and international group shows brought her awards and her one-man shows in NYC and elsewhere around the country brought sales and commissions. Today her paintings hang in public and private collections from Boston to Pales Verde, CA, and around the world from Munich, Germany to Auckland, New Zealand. Upon her husband's retirement in 1960, Gene returned with him to Ranier where she became the artist for the beloved local publication the Rainy Lake Chronicle.