Gregory Manchess, born in Kentucky, is an American award-winning painter, has worked as a freelance illustrator for forty-seven years His illustrations have appeared in magazines, digital murals, illustrated movie posters, advertising campaigns, and book covers, including sixty covers for Louis L’Amour. His work has appeared on Major League Baseball World Series Programs, Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Smithsonian and National Geographic. His style includes broad brush strokes and excellent figure work. Thirty of the paintings were the subject of a large scale exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum. The story was then adapted to a stage play by Greg and performed by actors of the Forest Roberts Theater on the campus of Northern Michigan University. The production took fourteen national awards at the National American College Theater Awards, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. On September 26, 2024, Manchess was inducted in the NY Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.