Fond Farewell: Professor Emeritus James William McManus

Announced on: Wednesday, Feb. 04, 2026

Professor Emeritus James William McManus, who taught in the Art History program at Chico State for 40 years, passed away on December 2, 2025.

Born on January 1, 1942, McManus served as a professor, scholar, and mentor. He took particular care in supporting new faculty, freely sharing his expertise in teaching while offering thoughtful encouragement for research and creative projects. Colleagues recall how easily he made others feel at home, and how much he valued conversation—especially discussions about ongoing research and shared intellectual interests—but also about non-academic topics like automobiles.

An influential scholar, McManus' writing focused primarily on Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, the Fluxus movement, and the work of Brian O'Doherty. His scholarship has been published internationally, and he presented papers at numerous conferences and served as a speaker throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Among his most notable accomplishments, McManus co-curated the exhibition Inventing Marcel Duchamp: The Dynamics of Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC (2009) with Ann Collins Goodyear and co-authored and edited the accompanying volume published by MIT Press. Together, they also edited AKA Marcel Duchamp: Meditations on the Identities of an Artist (Smithsonian Scholarly Press, 2014). In 2018, McManus edited a themed volume of The Space Between: Literature and Culture, 1914–1945, titled "Dada and Surrealism: Transatlantic Aliens on American Shores, 1914–1945."

Above all, McManus will be remembered for the spirit of kindness and encouragement he brought to his teaching, scholarship, and professional relationships. His contributions to the University and to the field of art history will endure, and his legacy as a scholar, mentor, and colleague remains deeply felt.

The University flag will be lowered in his honor on Thursday, February 5, 2026.