Meet the Artist

JOHN C. MENIHAN (1908-1992)

John C. Menihan (1908–1992) was one of upstate New York’s most prominent and beloved artists. Though he never sought national fame, his work entered major collections including the British Museum, the Boston Athenaeum, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery.

Born in Rochester, he showed early promise—designing a magazine cover at 16 and later studying at Phillips Exeter, East High, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he created stage designs for the Mask and Wig Club. In the 1930s he produced portraits for local publications, discovered lithography under master Bolton Brown, and soon exhibited at the Los Angeles Museum of Art, Albright Art Gallery, and the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

After wartime work in his family’s parachute business, Menihan resumed art with vigor. In 1947 he won four first prizes in oil, watercolor, printmaking, and drawing at the Finger Lakes Exhibition—an unprecedented sweep. Over the following decades he painted portraits, designed stained glass and liturgical works, and executed major murals for Xerox, R.T. French, Security Trust (112 feet long), and Rochester Telephone.

Exhibitions in the 1980s, including a retrospective at Nazareth College and a prints show at the Memorial Art Gallery, confirmed his enduring legacy. Menihan died in 1992, survived by his wife Margaret (d. 1998), daughter Mary, and sons John, Tom, and Peter.

A LIFE IN WORK
MASTER OF THREE DISCIPLINES

What Defines an Undiscovered Master?

The art world often celebrates names we already know. But what about those who created for decades — with vision, skill, and devotion — and yet never sought the spotlight?

We call them undiscovered masters.

Their work may be tucked away in flat files, known only to family and friends, or scattered across quiet collections. And yet, when seen together, their artistry tells a bigger story of lives spent seeing, shaping, recording, and expressing.

  • A substantial body of art made over many years — not a phase or hobby, but a life's commitment to creating.

  • Demonstrable skill across mediums — watercolor, printmaking, oil, or ink — backed by consistency and care.

  • A clear artistic voice, rooted in place, story, and style — not trend-chasing, but timeless observation.

  • Limited exhibition history, minimal market presence. Their value lies in the work itself, not in promotion.

  • Today, curators and collectors are looking again — not for fame, but for meaning. For work that deserves to be seen.