Manuel Bennett

Not to be confused with the actor Manu Bennett.

Manuel Bennett (October 13, 1921 – June 17, 2022) was an American artist.

Bennett was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 13, 1921.^[1] He moved to Mexico City, Mexico, in 1951 under the Montgomery GI Bill to study at the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" under the muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, the landscapist Dr. Atl and the sculptor Francisco Zúñiga.^[2]

Following in the tradition of his contemporaries in Mexico, the Taller de Gráfica Popular, Bennett produced mostly lithographic prints,^[3] though he also produced sculpture, which can be found in the collection of the Yeshiva University Museum.^[4]

Early in his career, Bennett played a major role in publication of the Codex Bodley Mixtec manuscripts, providing all of the color separation and capture necessary to reproduce the ancient piece.^[5]

Bennett produced public art for the cities of Encinitas, California, El Paso, Texas, Irvine, California,^[6] Hondo and Hiroshima in Japan.^[7] He also donated sculpture for awards for humanitarians including the American Heart Association.^[8]

Bennett served in the United States Army during World War II. He died on June 17, 2022, at the age of 100.^[9][10]