ARTISTIC COMMUNITY
Manigault’s oeuvre, stylistically diverse as it was, is consistently characterized by his abiding purpose of “transmuting the facts of nature into the creations of a vision,”as C.H. Caffin had aptly noted. The changes in Manigault’s style reflect his willingness to adopt new methods and techniques in order to express best his individualized view of nature.

This vision propelled Manigault to travel to several artistic communities, as he searched for the location that would mirror his personal sentiments. The utopian Oneida Community in New York provided artistic diversity for Manigault, allowing him to experiment with a variety of mediums, including woodcuts, sketches, and even ceramics. The still lifes painted in 1918 also reflect Oriental and Persian influences in their decorative details and rich designs.
Manigault’s decorative artwork proved to be financially rewarding; in one instance, he received a lucrative commission to create flatware designs for the Oneida Community, Ltd. The income that the artist earned from such projects helped to compensate for the paucity of painting sales late in his career. After 1917, he exhibited paintings very infrequently, and two years later he ceased exhibiting them altogether.
TREE RHYTHMS
1918
Collection of
Robert E Abrams