Gene Dodge

1942 - 2013

Gene Dodge was born and raised in Riverside, California. When he was in high school the Swanson family moved to town from South Dakota, an event that would ultimately shape his life and career. Gene and Mary Swanson met at church and within a few years they were dating, which in a few more years led to a marriage that lasted the rest of Gene’s life, and a close relationship with Mary’s brothers, Ray and Gary.

Following high school, Gene worked his way up to become an engineer with the California Division of Highways, while one brother-in-law, Ray, graduated from Northrup Aeronautical Institute as an engineer, and his other brother-in-law, Gary, worked as a taxidermist, museum curator, and conservationist.

In their thirties all three men and their families ended up in Prescott, Arizona, and it was in Arizona that Ray decided to leave his career as an engineer to pursue his interest in art. Ray often took Gene with him to nearby Navajo reservations where he strove to produce accurate depictions of Navajo life, and he encouraged both Gene and Gary to pursue art as well, which Gary did and took Gene along with him on his field trips. Said Gene of those trips, “My interests prior to painting had always centered around animal life. In getting to know Gary Swanson, that interest was greatly reinforced. I always envied Gary’s freedom to spend so much time so close to animals and nature, and the more I went out with him on trips into the field, researching animals and habitat, the more I realized how important his art was. I could see that combining my love of nature and my artistic desires would be a way of doing something really special with my life.” Soon the trio were full-time working artists. Ray and Gene shared a studio for about a decade, where, according to Gene’s wife Mary, they typically painted from 8:00am to 5:00pm every day. Ray became well known for his paintings of Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni life, eventually becoming the president of the Cowboy Artists of America, while Gene and Gary became accomplished wildlife artists.

For Gene painting was about conveying to the viewer his appreciation of animals and nature in the most realistic way as possible. “My enjoyment of animals is something I try to recreate on canvas. I think the more realism, the more depth you put into a painting, the more lifelike it becomes.”

Gene Dodge was the last survivor of this impressive family trio of wildlife and Western artists. However, Gary’s son Trevor continues the tradition of his father and uncles today as a successful wildlife artist living and working in Phoenix, Arizona.

UNTITLED (MOUNTAIN LIONS) Oil on Masonite 1982 19 3⁄8 x 29 ¼ inches