Greg Manchess

Greg Manchess worked for two years with Gary Kelley at the Hellman Design Associates illustration studio in Iowa before striking out on his own in 1979. Combining his love for fine art and science fiction, he began his career as a freelance painter for OMNI magazine. His versatility and wide-ranging interests have allowed him to work on covers for Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American, and Time magazine, as well as on interior spreads in Playboy, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, the Smithsonian Institution, and numerous books. The United States Postal Service also commissioned him to design stamps, including the “Mark Twain Forever” in 2011 and the “March on Washington” series in 2013.  

Greg Manchess’s interest in history and his majestic depictions of the human form have made him a favorite of the National Geographic Society, with artworks including "The Sinking of the CSS Alabama" and a series of ten paintings for the traveling exhibition “Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah, from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship.”

Greg Manchess has received numerous awards in the field of illustration, including two gold medals and four silver medals from the New York Society of Illustrators. He was also honored by his peers with the highly coveted Hamilton King Award in 1999 and the Stevan Dohanos Award in the “Best Illustration of the Year” category in 2000. His artwork has been featured on the cover and within the pages of the prestigious magazine Communication Arts, as well as in the latest edition of The Illustrator in America, 1860–2000 by Walt Reed. Along with several other artists, he teaches in week-long seminars—primarily focused on painting and known as The Illustration Masterclass—in Amherst, MA. He also leads an online course for SmArtSchool and gives lectures at American universities. Additionally, he organizes painting workshops at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.