Manuel Gregorio Acosta was born in 1921 in Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico and grew up in the segundo barrio of El Paso, Texas where he attended Bowie High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force during which time he decided to become a professional artist after viewing first-hand the art of European old masters. Acosta returned to El Paso where he worked with painter Peter Hurd, oftentimes preparing the ground for Hurd's fresco paintings while building his own reputation as a painter. His portrait of Cesar Chavez was on the cover of Time magazine and is displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Acosta was not an activist but supported the Chicano movement with his art and by holding rallies in his studio. He was murdered in his home in 1989 by a Mexican national. Adair Margo Gallery is privileged to handle the estate of this gifted Mexican-American painter.

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