Leo Manso (1914–1993) was a painter, collagist, and educator whose luminous abstractions and poetic compositions placed him among the most quietly influential figures of mid-20th-century American modernism. Born in New York City, Manso studied at the National Academy of Design, the Educational Alliance, and the New School for Social Research, where his early training bridged traditional technique with modernist experimentation. His formal education, paired with a voracious interest in art history—from Persian miniatures to Italian Quattrocento painting—informed a lifelong investigation into color, form, and spiritual resonance.

Manso began his professional career as an illustrator, designing book covers and serving as an art director at major publishing houses in New York. But it was his postwar engagement with abstraction that established his place within the American avant-garde. A member of the American Abstract Artists group, Manso exhibited alongside Josef Albers and Ben Nicholson, and cultivated friendships with fellow modernists such as Milton Avery, Jacques Lipchitz, and Robert Motherwell. Though associated with Abstract Expressionism, Manso described his style as “Abstract Impressionism,” favoring subtle gradations of tone and form over the gestural bravado of his contemporaries.

He found particular inspiration in the landscapes of Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he established a summer studio in 1947 and helped co-found Gallery 256, one of the first artist-run cooperatives in the region. His paintings from this period—works such as Bay/Dusk (1954) and Grey Sun (1957)—blend nature and abstraction in shimmering, expressive fields of color that reflect his deep study of Turner, Monet, and Sung Dynasty scroll painting. Over time, Manso's practice evolved into a quieter, more formalist idiom. His collages, such as Tanka III (1968) and Firenze (1984), are layered meditations on memory and place, constructed from painted paper, antique letters, and other ephemera that evoke both time and tactility.

Travel remained central to Manso’s life and work. He journeyed to Mexico, Haiti, India, Nepal, Africa, and Italy, drawing inspiration from each landscape and cultural encounter. His late work often incorporated geometric innovations, such as circular supports and triangular forms, as seen in pieces like Vista I (Valley of Kathmandu) (1974). These works reflect both a personal mythology and a sustained philosophical inquiry—what he called “visual equivalents for certain ideals.”

As an educator, Manso taught at Cooper Union, Columbia University, and New York University, mentoring generations of students with his thoughtful, rigorous approach. He was elected a National Academician by the National Academy of Design in 1985, a recognition of both his artistic excellence and his contribution to American art.

Manso’s work was widely exhibited and is included in major collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Glicenstein Museum in Safed, Israel. His legacy is one of quiet innovation and lyrical abstraction—art that, in its search for harmony and depth, continues to resonate with clarity and grace.

Selected Exhibitions

• Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1947–49, 1953–54, 1962–68

• American Abstract Artists, 1948

• Provincetown Art Association and Museum

• Audubon Artists, 1952 (First Prize)

• American Academy of Arts & Letters, 1950 (Award), 1969 (Purchase)

• University of Illinois, Urbana Annual, 1950 (Award)

• Ford Foundation, 1963 (Purchase Prize)

• National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1961, 1969

• Museum of Modern Art, 1965

• Whitney Museum of American Art, 1947–66

• Art Students League, 1992 (Retrospective)

• Hudson River Museum, 1970 (Prize)

• Guggenheim Fellowship, 1982

Museum Collections

• Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY

• Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN

• Kresge Art Museum, East Lansing, MI

• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

• Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR

• Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, NE

• Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA

• The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY

• The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, NY

Additional Collections

• Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

• Worcester Museum of Art

• Corcoran Gallery of Art

• New York University

• Brandeis University

• Glicenstein Museum, Israel

• Mount Holyoke College

• Riverside Museum, NY

• Hirshhorn Museum

• National Academy of Design

• Provincetown Art Association and Museum

• Nebraska Art Association

• Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois

• Ulrich Museum

• Michigan State University Museum

Memberships

• National Academy of Design