Raymond Joseph Monsen

Raymond Joseph Monsen

Art collector, economist, professor, and civic leader Dr. Raymond Joseph Monsen, Jr. of Seattle, Washington died at his home on August 2, 2019 at the age of 88.

Joseph and his wife, Elaine, spent a lifetime pursuing beauty and their passion for collecting art. Over five decades they assembled three major collections: Asian art, American ceramics, and the history of photography. More than 30 exhibitions of their collections have been presented in museums from 1967 to 2015.

Drs. Joseph and Elaine Monsen took great pleasure in sharing their collections with museums over 48 years so the public could also enjoy the works of art. Beginning in 1967 with an exhibition of the "Joseph Monsen Ceramic Collection" at the Henry Art Gallery and continuing through 2015 with the Museum of Photographic Arts exhibition "New Visions: Art and Invention in the 19th Century." Their collection was exhibited at many institutions across the country including the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Crafts Gallery in Portland, OR, the La Jolla Athenaeum, Portland Museum of Art in Maine, the Mingei International Museum, San Diego, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the San Francisco Ansel Adams Center of Photography, the San Francisco Museum of Art (now SFMOMA), and Washington State University.

They also gifted art from their collections to many museums, including over 1,200 photographs to the Henry Art Gallery as well as major pieces of Asian art to the Seattle Art Museum such as the 12th century life-size Amida Buddha sculpture. Other museums that have been recipients of their largesse include the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. In 2004, Drs. Joseph and Elaine Monsen became Laureates at the University of Washington for their transformative contributions to the Henry Art Gallery.

Born on March 13, 1931, in Payson, Utah, to Lucille and Raymond Monsen, Dr. Monsen earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah in 1953, a Masters of Arts degree from Stanford University in 1954, and a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1960.

At UC Berkeley, Joseph met Dr. Elaine Ranker, who was pursuing her PhD in nutrition and biochemistry, and whom he married on January 21, 1959. They spent three years in Utah while he was Assistant Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University (1960-63), before he and Elaine both joined the faculty of the University of Washington, Seattle in 1963. Their daughter, Maren, was born later that year.

At the University of Washington, Dr. Monsen taught graduate seminars and supervised numerous doctoral students and served as Chair of the Department of Business, Government, and Society from 1973-1981. He published many articles and books, including Modern American Capitalism: Ideologies and Issues (1963), The Makers of Public Policy: American Power Groups and Their Ideologies (1965), The Business World (edited with Borje O. Saxberg, 1967), Business and the Changing Environment (1973), and Nationalized Companies (with Kenneth D. Walters, 1983).

In addition to his teaching at the University of Washington, he served as Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (1971-1972), and was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in the Department of Economics and Graduate School of Business at Harvard University (1968-69).

Dr. Monsen's contributions to civic life in the communities of his residence have been deep and long lasting. He was a Founding Member of the Henry Gallery Association Board of Trustees from 1967-2008 and a member of its Advisory Council until his passing. He was also a Founding Trustee of the Seattle Opera Association from 1964-1974 and a Trustee of the Seattle Art Museum from 1966-1984. He was a Trustee of the Salt Lake City Art Museum from 1964-1971,Vice President of the Pacific Northwest Art Center, 1971-1973, and a Trustee of the University of California at San Diego Art Gallery from 1990-2000.

Joseph Monsen's family and friends remember him for his passion for art, his love of music and literature, his delight in the company of friends and family, and his devotion to Elaine, his wife of 55 years, who preceded him in passing in 2014. He is survived by his daughter Dr. Maren Ranker Monsen, son-in-law Jeffry Johnston Grainger, and two grandchildren Solenn and Tilson Grainger-Monsen, who have recently relocated to Seattle, WA from Portola Valley, CA.