Artist Manning Williams: Inspiring Charleston's Neo-Renaissance

By Patra Taylor

At the turn of the 20th century, Charleston languished as an old Southern town that time had forgotten.  Devastated by the Civil War, Charleston’s rich heritage hung over the city like a faded dream.

But in 1920, an amazing collaboration of artists and writers spearheaded a dramatic cultural revival that would last 25 years and help propel Charleston back into its role as one of the most significant art and cultural centers in America.

Drawing on an endless supply of subject matter, the artists of the period between 1915 and 1940, dubbed “The Charleston Renaissance,” began documenting the lush landscapes, plantation life, architectural landmarks and local color through their oils, watercolors, drawings and prints. The four local pillars of this era — Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, Elizabeth O’Neill Verner, Anna Heyward Taylor and Alfred Hutty — are also credited with inspiring Charleston’s preservation movement by reawakening the public to the charm and significance of the city’s architectural heritage through their images.

Even as Charleston continued to rush toward its cultural destiny into the mid-20th century, a young boy stood captivated by the miniature portrait collection at the Gibbes Museum of Art. Probably the finest collection of its kind in the United States, the miniatures were often commissioned on the occasions of births, deaths, engagements, marriages and other personal events, therefore revealing people’s most private moments.

“After seeing the collection of miniatures, I went home and immediately started sketching the faces I saw in the newspapers,” states artist Manning Williams. “So I was a portrait artist first.”

Born in Charleston in 1939, Williams was actually a skilled whittler by age 9 who could easily switch his work-in-progress from one hand to the other… an act he used to impress his fellow Boy Scouts. After graduating from the College of Charleston in the early 1960s, Williams toyed with the idea of taking a more traditional career path, but ultimately followed his passion into the world of art.

“Julia Horner-Wilson, a very accomplished illustrator, saw his sketches and really encouraged Manning,” explains Williams’ wife, Barbara, the former editor of The Post and Courier. “I also encouraged him. So after he graduated from college, we got married and ran off to Philadelphia. That’s the kind of thing you do when you’re young.”

After completing his graduate work at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the couple returned to Charleston where Williams settled in to the artist’s life. True to the passion that sparked his career, Williams began painting portraits.

According to David D. Harlan, a recent visit to Williams’ studio revealed the many styles that collectively make up Manning Williams’ massive body of work. “Leaning in a bookshelf, I found an early 1967 miniature portrait of a woman…precise, austere and mysterious,” states Harlan, an architect from New Haven, Conn. The studio is also a testament to his mastery of realism as reflected in the faces of his heroes, like John Wayne and the many cowboys and American Indians he’s captured on paper and canvas.

“I am a fan of his landscape and narrative panoramas, some now on permanent display at the Charleston International Airport,” adds Harlan. “Whenever we fly into Charleston, these paintings restore our collective memories of the Lowcountry landscape.”

Artist Lese Corrigan sees Williams as one of last remaining connections to the Charleston Renaissance artists. According to Corrigan, artists William Halsey and Corrie Parker McCallum were attached to the very end of that era. “Manning came less than 20 years behind them and knew them,” explains Corrigan, owner of Corrigan Gallery, which represents Williams’ work. “He is the only remaining artist besides Anne Worsham Richardson who has that past connection to Charleston Renaissance artists. And Manning made the same transition that both Halsey and McCallum made, from representational work to abstract work.”

“I consider myself a narrative painter,” states Williams. “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.”

Throughout his prolific career — estimated at more than 10,000 sketches, paintings and sculptures — Williams has exhibited nationally and internationally, with solo shows in Charleston, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Greenville Museum of Art and the Florence Museum. Group shows encompassing his work include “Second Story Show” at Piccolo Spoleto in 2002; “100 Years/100 Artists, Views From the 20th Century” at the S.C. State Museum in 1999–2000; and “Old South, New South” at Winthrop College in 1995. In 2004, Williams teamed up with artist Linda Fantuzzo for a duo show at the Gibbes Museum of Art entitled “Visions.”

Despite his numerous commissions, Williams’ role inspiring a new generation of artists may one day be considered his most significant contribution to the Charleston art community.

“I think one of the key things about Manning is that he has the ability to look at your work and understand where you want to go with it — and then he encourages that,” explains Linda Fantuzzo. “He’s unlike most artists… they seem to want to grab you and get you to do what they do.

“Manning is an artist’s artist,” continues Fantuzzo. “His passion for art and art history, and his work ethic have been enormously inspirational to me and to his other students. Not only has Manning been generous with his knowledge, he’s also been generous with his work. The eternal optimist, Manning is my best friend and greatest mentor.”

To view a selection of Manning Williams’ work, please visit Corrigan Gallery located at 62 Queen Street in historic downtown Charleston. Or visit the gallery online at corrigangallery.com.

View our guide to Arts and Antiques shopping in Charleston.

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Julia Santen Gallery Original vintage poster art. A glimpse of European advertising at the turn of the 20th Century. Covering the walls of the gallery are large splashes of color inviting you to the Moulin Rouge, Monaco Grand Prix, films, exotic locations and more. Belle Epoch, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and contemporary periods.

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