Manon Cleary (November 14, 1942 – November 26, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri)

Manon Cleary

Manon Cleary (November 14, 1942 – November 26, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri) was an American realist painter who worked and lived in the District of Columbia.
Cleary was born in St. Louis, Missouri; she had an identical twin sister, Shirley Cleary-Cooper, who is also an artist. After studying in Rome where she developed an interest in Caravaggio, Cleary studied at Washington University in St. Louis and Temple University. She settled in Washington, D.C., in 1974 and taught at the University of the District of Columbia for thirty years. In 2001, she married F. Steven Kijek.
Cleary's works have been exhibited worldwide including in a solo ten-year retrospective at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1985 and in 2006 in a career retrospective at the Washington Arts Museum at Edison Place. In 1997, one of her paintings at an erotic art auction was featured on an episode of HBO's Real Sex.
Cleary had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and died at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 69.

 

Grandma Napping

1966, watercolor on paper. 20 x 24 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Woman Model

1966, oil on canvas. 24 x 24 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 I'm Old Enough Enough To Leave Home Now Mommie

 1960s acrylic on canvas.

 

Ave Mamma Rome

1960s, acrylic on canvas. 

Untitled

1970s, graphite on paper.

Self-portrait 

1972
graphite on paper.

Idol 

1969

acrylic on canvas. 50 x 45 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary

 Afternoon in a Yellow Box 

 1967

acrylic on canvas. 44 x 44 inches. 

 Juicer

1969
acrylic on canvas. 36 x 36 inches. Private collection.

Headlights 

1970
acrylic on canvas. Collection fo the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Flying Machine  

1971

acrylic on canvas.

Iron

1971-1972
acrylic on canvas. 69 x 49 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

Pear 

1970
acrylic on canvas. 24 x 24 inches.

 Seed 

1970
acrylic on canvas. 30 x 30 inches.

 American Apple Landscape 

 1970

acrylic on canvas. 46 x 46 inches.

 Self Portrait with Randy

1970s, graphite on paper. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Ring Around Inez Rae

1970s, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Gene II

1974, graphite on paper. 36 x 29 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

Self Portrait with Randy

1974, graphite on paper. Private collection.

 Aloysius Besides a Victorian Chair

1976-1977, oil on canvas. 40 x 70 inches. Collection of Peter and Bernis von zur Muehlen.

Self Portrait with Randy

1977, graphite on paper. 39 x 27 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary

 

Randy

1977, oil on canvas. Private collection.

 

 

Self Portrait

1978, graphite on rag paper. 29 x 23 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Big J

1979. oil on canvas. Private collection.

Ramon After Lunch

1979, oil on canvas.30 x 70 inches. Collection the Katzen Arts Center at American University, Washington, DC.

Randy with Rats

1979, oil on canvas. 36.5 x 36.5 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Self Portrait
1980s, graphite on paper. Private collecti

 Movement Series #(?)

1980s, graphite on paper.

 Self Portrait #6 of Movement Series

1980s, graphite on paper. 23 x 29 inches. Private collection.

Movement Series #7

1980, graphite on rag paper. 23 x29 inches. Private collection.

 Mystery Series Study

1980s, gouache on rag paper. Private collection.

 Self-portrait

1981, oil on canvas. 35.5 x 47.5 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Mystery Series #(?)

1985, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Mystery Series #4

1987, oil on canvas. 60 x 40 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Mystery Series #5

1987, oil on canvas. 50 x 41 inches. Courtesy of Steve Krensky.

 Steve’s Manon

1988, graphite on paper. 21 x 27. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Mystery Series #2

1988, oil on canvas 60 x 48. Courtesy of Steve Krensky. Photo © F. Steven Kijek.

 Mystery Series #3a

1988, oil on canvas. 50 x 41 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Self Portrait (nude across a bed)

1993, graphite on paper. 23 x 29 inches. Private collection.

 Movement Series #15

1994, graphite on paper. 23 x 29. Private collection.

Movement Series #(?)

1984, graphite on paper. 23 x 29. Private collection.

 Movement Series #4

1984, graphite on paper. 23 x 29. Private collection.

 Rape Series

1990s, acrylic on canvas. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Rape Series

1990s, acrylic on canvas. 12 x 10 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Jim

1994, oil on canvas. 8 x 12 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 Nude

1994, graphite on rag paper. 23 x 29 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

 

Man in Plastic Bag #8

1996, graphite on paper. 33 x 27 inches. Private collection.

 Exotic Bloom Series #4

1999, oil on canvas. 24 x 24 inches. Collection of the District of Columbia, John A. Wilson Building, Washington, DC.

 Exotic Bloom Series #10

1999, oil on canvas. 16 x 24 inches. Private collection.

Breathless Series  

2000
C-print. 7.5 x 12 inches. 

 

Breathless Series

2000, C-print. 7.5 x 12 inches.

 

Steve in Rubber Mask (unfinished)

2001, graphite on paper. 28 x 21 inches. Estate of Manon Cleary.

Skyscape 9/24/07

2007, pastel on sanded paper, 3 x 5 inches

Skyscape

c. 2007-2009, pastel on sanded paper. 7.5 x 11 inches.

Manon Cleary

Manon Cleary’s paintings and drawings are often based on photographs she has taken. Her paintings and graphite almost appear quite photo-realistic. Whether capturing a detail of a budding orchid or the movement of human form, Cleary has the ability to render every strand of hair, emotional feeling, and flicker of light. She was awarded the 14th Annual Mayor’s Art Award, for Sustained Excellence in an Artistic Discipline in Washington, DC, in 1999. Her work is included in such museum collections as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Chicago Art Institute, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, The Brooklyn Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.