He was born in Gouveia on October 12. He graduated in Painting from Escola Superior de Belas Artes of Lisbon (1908-1915), where he was a student of the painter Carlos Reis.

Like other Portuguese contemporary artists, he lived in Paris (1919-1925) where he attended the engraving course at the Schulemberger house and participated in the “Salon” of the Societé Nationale de Beaux-Arts (1921, 1922 and 1923). 

When he returned to Portugal, he taught Decorative Arts in Funchal (1926), and married the painter Clementina Carneiro de Moura (1927) with whom he had his only son, the architect and painter João Abel Manta (1928).

Parallel to his artistic activity, he was a professor at the António Arroio Decorative Arts School from 1934 to 1958, when he retired.

Of his individual exhibitions, the one held at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, in parallel with Dórdio Gomes – January Exhibition: Abel Manta – Dórdio Gomes (1965) – is of note.

Of the various collective exhibitions in which he participated, we can highlight those organized and/or held at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: I and II Exhibitions of Plastic Arts (Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, 1957 and Feira Internacional of Lisbon, 1961); Exhibition of contemporary art belonging to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Baghdad Museum of Modern Art, 1966); Art portugais: peinture et sculpture du naturalisme à nous jours (Portuguese Cultural Center, Paris, 1968); Figurative painters in 5 collections (Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, 1969); Figurative artists: painting and drawing in 5 collections (1972); The landscape (travelling exhibition, 1972); Arte portuguesa contemporânea (travelling exhibition, Brazil, 1976); Os anos 40 na arte portuguesa (1982); Inauguração do CAM (Centro de Arte Moderna, 1983); O imaginário da cidade de Lisboa (1985); Auto-retratos da colecção (Centro de Arte Moderna, 1999; curated by Jorge Molder); Evocações, passagens, atmosferas, pintura do Museu Sakip Sabanci (2007); Exposição Permanente do CAM (Centro de Arte Moderna, 2009; curated by Jorge Molder); and Olhos nos olhos: the portrait in the CAM collection (Centro de Arte Moderna, 2015; curated by Isabel Carlos).

He was also part of the Portuguese representation at the 25th Venice Biennale (1950) and the 3rd São Paulo Biennale (1955).

He was responsible for the decoration of some of Portugal’s pavilions at international exhibitions, namely the Seville Exhibition (1929), the Colonial Exhibition in Paris (1931) and the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques Applied to Modern Life, also held in the capital of France (1937).

He made fresco decorations for the Casa da Moeda, as well as the stained-glass windows of the side nave of the Igreja dos Jerónimos and the staircase of the National Institute of Statistics.

In 1985, the Municipal Museum of Modern Art Abel Manta (Gouveia) was opened, and his work is represented in several public collections, including Centro de Arte Moderna of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea, Museu José Malhoa and Museu Nacional Grão Vasco.

Abel Manta was awarded the Silva Porto Prize (Secretariado Nacional de Informação, 1942) and the 1st Prize for Painting at the 1st Exhibition of Plastic Arts at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (1957), he was also distinguished with the Comenda da Ordem de Santiago e Espada (1979).