Harley Manifold was born in Camperdown, Victoria in 1982. In 2003 he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Deakin University in Warrnambool. He then went onto complete his Honours in Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts as the only non alumni in his year. He has been included in numerous Art prizes and group exhibitions. On three occasions he has been a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2015, 2017 & 2021) as well as the Salon Des Refuses of the Archibald and Wynne Prize (2016, 2019, 2021 & 2024). And most recently The Darling Portrait Prize.
Established in 2021, the National Emerging Art Prize was created to provide an annual, highly visible national platform to identify, promote and support the most promising emerging visual and ceramic artists in Australia.