Penelope Manzella, 95, passed away on July 31, 2024, in her home and surrounded by her loving family.
Penelope was born in Philadelphia, PA on November 24, 1928, to parents Alfred Bennett Harbage and Eliza Finnessy Harbage. Penelope graduated from Barnard College and Columbia School of Painting and Sculpture in 1951 and won a Fulbright scholarship to work and study in Florence, Italy. She spent two years in Florence with her husband, David Manzella, and then they lived in Illinois and California before moving back east to Barrington, RI in 1962.
Penelope began to pursue her art career in earnest once she moved to RI and it has been her defining identity for the past sixty years. Her paintings and sculptures have been selected for juried shows in galleries throughout Rhode Island, Boston, Palm Beach, New York City, and Los Angeles. Her work is represented in both public and private collections and over the years she has donated several of her pieces to charitable causes. Her art was emotionally daring and stirred memories that set her apart from her peers and she always insisted that her creations were both true to life and fictional. Penelope had a fertile and beautiful imagination that flowed out of her and affected all aspects of her life. Her most enduring creation was her house and gardens. Every space inside and outside was touched by her vision and craftsmanship and being with Penelope at her home was a magical experience.
Penelope was a woman of industry. She was both a realist and a romantic, an avid reader, writer, world traveler, ocean swimmer, cook, dressmaker, gardener, beekeeper, and most of all, a wonderful mother. She leaves behind her brothers Alfred and John, her children Peter, Phoebe, and Amy, her eight grandchildren, and her two great-grandchildren.
Services will be private.