Art + Music

Gibbes Museum Celebrates Artist Manning Williams at Kiawah River

This month, Kiawah River’s Oak Park welcomed a relaxing outdoor picnic with the Gibbes Museum of Art in honor of revered artist Manning Williams. A Charleston-native, Williams was a talented artist who captured the Lowcountry scenes with a passion for storytelling and history. The waterfront village was the perfect setting to learn about Williams, calling to mind the same beautiful landscapes often featured in his work.  

Before his passing in 2012, Williams was a realist painter who found his muse along the Charleston city and barrier islands. Williams garnered a prolific career of landscape paintings born of his enthusiasm for the land and the people who love it. 

“Williams’ monumental narrative painting, “Jack Island Trials,” was inspired by the bird dog champions trials that took place on Jack Island,” said Sara Arnold, art curator at the Gibbes. “The rural Lowcountry landscape is full of characters and intentionally mysterious as the artist enjoyed creating enigmatic scenes leaving the viewers to piece together their own imaginative storyline.” 

Homeowners and fellows of the Gibbes enjoyed previewing the “Jack Island Trials,” displayed in the center of the park, as they learned more about his Williams’ legacy. 

The fabulous exhibition, Manning Williams: Reinventing Narrative Painting, is now publicly open at the Gibbes following the Kiawah River exhibit. You are invited to visit the Gibbes’ show that will be open through April 18, 2021. To learn more and book tickets, visit the exhibit webpage. 

Kiawah River is a proud friend of the Gibbes, Charleston’s only visual arts museum located in Historic Downtown Charleston. We were honored to host and attend this inspiring event to learn more about Manning Williams’ treasured artistic legacy.