Hugh Monahan was born in Dublin the son of a high court judge in the Indian civil services.  After spending his early years in India, Hugh Monahan was sent to school in England where he studied history at Pembroke College in Cambridge and then went on to The Royal Hibernian Academy where he studied art.

He had a preference for painting in oils and secured his reputation with his trademark pictures of wildfowl set in atmospheric landscapes.  He was a talented artist able to keep the oils he used flowing over the canvas, which enabled him to create a sense of movement in his subjects.  His work was a combination of realism, with a hint of impressionism, with the result that his pictures are best viewed standing back where contrast in light and atmosphere can be best appreciated.  In our opinion we believe that many of his paintings would more than hold their own, against some of the more celebrated works by Sir Peter Scott, but at a fraction of the cost..