Manning Williams (1939–2012)
Manning Williams’s paintings are rooted in the history, traditions, and terrain of the South Carolina Lowcountry. A Charleston native and lifelong resident, he received his B.S. from the College of Charleston before pursuing graduate work at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. After studying at the Academy, he returned to his hometown of Charleston. His highly personal approach to realist painting emphasized storytelling and was fueled by an interest in portraying subjects found on the periphery of the city and along the barrier islands. Williams embraced the common, the everyday, and the factual rather than picturesque beauty.
Western subjects also commanded Williams’s attention, and during the later years of his career, his concern with narrative was expressed in a more abstract style. Later in his career, Williams stated: “I consider myself a narrative painter. Yet times have changed the way we see the world. TV, movies, and the Internet pour out information faster than we could have imagined only a few years back. My work today is about finding a new way to narrate our times.”
Manning Williams’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with solo shows in Charleston, New Orleans, Washington, at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Art, and the Greenville Museum of Art. Group shows featuring his work included the “Second Story Show” at Piccolo Spoleto in 2002, “100 Years/100 Artists, Views From the 20th Century” at the South Carolina State Museum in 1999–2000, and “Old South, New South” at Winthrop College in 1995. In 2004, Williams and Linda Fantuzzo had a duo show at the Gibbes Museum of Art. In 2008, Williams had a solo show at the Florence Museum. Museum retrospectives were held in 2021 at the Gibbes Museum of Art and the Morris Museum.
Williams was named a 1991 Fellow by the South Carolina Arts Commission in recognition of his contributions to the visual arts in the state. His most well-known commissions were displayed at the Charleston Airport, East Cooper Hospital, and the Gaillard Auditorium. His work is included in public and corporate collections, among them the South Carolina Arts Commission, R.J. Reynolds Corporation, Citizens and Southern National Bank, Post & Courier Publishing Company, Kiawah Resort Association, Greenville County Museum, South Carolina State Museum, the Gibbes Museum of Art, and the Telfair Museum.
