Gregory Manchess

A native of Kentucky, Gregory Manchess earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1977. After two years as a studio illustrator, Manchess struck out on his own.

His illustrations have been featured on covers of Time, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and the Major League Baseball Official World Series Program, spreads for Newsweek and Smithsonian, and movie posters for studios such as Paramount, Columbia, and Disney. Manchess has continued to illustrate children’s books since providing the art for Sheila MacGill-Callahan’s To Capture The Wind, which was published in 1997. Recently he painted ten murals for a National Geographic exhibition on pirates that will tour 15 cities. He also completed a large portrait of Abraham Lincoln and seven major works depicting the president’s life for the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

In recognition of his work, the Society of Illustrators in New York has awarded Manchess a gold medal, four silver medals, and the Stevan Dohanos Award. The Society also honored him in 1999 with the Hamilton King Award for career accomplishments.

Today a resident of Beaverton, Oregon, Manchess frequently lectures at universities nationwide and gives workshops on painting at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The 2009 Oregon Statehood stamp was his first project for the U.S. Postal Service.