A Life of Artistic Exploration
Edward Middleton Manigault was born in London, Ontario, to American parents from South Carolina. His early artistic endeavors included making renderings of public buildings for postcards, which were commissioned by the city of London at the age of 18. In 1905, he moved to New York City to study at the New York School of Art under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller. By 1909, his work shifted away from realism toward a Post-Impressionism style, leading to his first exhibition in New York that same year. His talent attracted collectors such as J. Paul Getty and Arthur Jerome Eddy, and his work was later included in the Armory Show and exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
During World War I, Manigault served as an ambulance driver with the British Expeditionary Force in Flanders. Following his service, he lived in the utopian community of Oneida, New York, before resettling in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles with his wife, Gertrude Buffington Phillips. His later years were marked by experimentation with Cubist and abstract styles, as well as engagement with the Arts and Crafts Movement through designing ceramics, furniture, and flatware for Oneida Limited.
Artistic Legacy and Style
Manigault's body of work is characterized by several distinct phases and stylistic shifts:
His surviving works are held in various permanent collections, including:
