Annie Lenney Paintings

Who was Annie Lenney?

Annie Lenney was born May 26, 1910 in Potsdam, daughter of Edward and Ann (Kennedy) Lenney. She attended Potsdam schools and received her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Elizabeth, New Jersey. She also studied at the Arts Student League, New York City, Syracuse University, St. Lawrence University, Fordham University, and the Grand Central Art School, New York City.

Lenney was an accomplished landscape painter, often working in oils. Her work was exhibited worldwide. She was quoted as saying, “Painting, for me, is a way of life. It is how you feel about things. It is how you look at the world…You paint because you have to. AS it is necessary for people to breathe, so it is necessary for me to paint.”

Lenney lived in New York City for a time, and married Massena native William Shannon in Brooklyn in 1935. They settled in New Jersey, but returned to Potsdam in 1983, where they lived until her death in 1984.