Manon Cleary

Manon Cleary (November 14, 1942 – November 26, 2011) was an American artist based in Washington, D.C. Cleary specialized in photo-realistic paintings and drawings.

Many of her works were inspired by events in her life, and focused on the human form and lights.

Cleary received her bachelor's degree from Washington University in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

She later received her master's degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Cleary was born on November 14, 1942, in St. Louis, Missouri with her identical twin sister, Shirley Cleary-Cooper.

Cleary and her twin were very similar growing up, and Cleary stated in an interview that they were dressed alike by their mother until adulthood.

Her father was a general practitioner in St. Louis and brought home almost every disease and epidemic that hit the city.

This meant that Cleary and her sister were at home, sick for much of their childhood.

It was during this time at home that they both turned to art.

They continued their artistic careers by associating with the art museum and majoring in art in high school.

Cleary went to Washington University in St. Louis and received her degree in 1964.

After graduating, Cleary applied to spend her first year of graduate school in Rome, for the Tyler School of Art.

While in Rome, Cleary studied the work of Caravaggio and remained inspired by his work for much of her career.

After a year in Rome, Cleary finished her graduate studies and received her MFA in 1968, at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cleary moved to upstate New York, where she briefly taught at a state university in Oswego.

In 1970, shortly after graduation, Cleary moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked at the University of the District of Columbia as a professor for thirty years.

Cleary's style of art is realistic; it is said that she would often win awards for her work in the photography category by mistake.

She often worked in a reductive fashion by using graphite powder, tissues, and erasers.

This style allowed her to create works that were softer and more personal, but still realistic.

Shortly thereafter, she moved to Washington, D.C. in 1970, where she would remain for the rest of her life.

Cleary used many different mediums throughout her career but is most well known for her erotic figures in paintings and her drawings.

Cleary is known for her photo-realism; The Washington Post called her the best figure painter of her generation.

Cleary's style developed during her undergraduate days.

Her watercolor professor taught her how to mix graphite powder and alcohol to create a more painterly style of drawing but she didnt like it, claiming the graphite tended to "chalk up."

When she went back to drawing a few years later, it was leftover graphite from that period she turned to, not charcoal.

Cleary was drawn to the glow that only graphite can provide.

This time though, Cleary developed her own style.

She worked in a reductive, layered fashion, covering the whole paper in graphite and then using erasers to flesh out the image.

This allowed the subject to come into focus slowly,as the graphite was layered with the aid of tissues and blending stumps.

Cleary created her images from multiple photos, taken from different angles, a habit she developed during college when models weren't readily available.

This is partly why she is identified as a photorealist.

This process was a challenge for Cleary, as there was no precedent or guide to help her with her style.

There was much trial and error to figure out not only what erasers worked best, but also how much stress the paper could take.

Cleary developed this style out of fear of white paper; she also found it easier to cover a mistake by working this way, as it was easier to add more graphite instead of erasing a line.

By working in this reductive fashion, Cleary created an image that was original and unique.

Without the harsh pencil lines, her drawings had a soft and ethereal quality.

While her work is considered photorealism, it stands out from other artists of the time.

Cleary died in 2011 at the age of 69.

She suffered for many years from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Her work is held by many museums throughout the United States, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art. She held numerous solo exhibitions and was a part of many exhibitions worldwide.