The Inner Cove, Hamburg, Connecticut, 1926

James Goodwin McManus was a noted American painter and considered one of the deans of Connecticut art. His impressionist style landscapes are noted for their detailed brushwork and rich hues. By contrast, his portraits follow a tradition of realism.

At age 16, McManus started studying drawing under Charles Noel Flagg and later with Robert B. Brandegee, Walter Griffin and others. Together with his teachers, McManus founded the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts in 1910, eventually becoming president of that organization (1938-1945). He taught there as well as at the Connecticut Art Students League and the Guy Wiggins Art School. He spent his summers painting and teaching in Old Lyme, Connecticut. McManus was a member of the Salmagundi Club of New York, the Lyme Artists’ Association and the New Haven Paint and Clay Club. He frequently exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.