Manfred Böttcher was born in Oberdorla, Thuringia, in 1933. From 1950 to 1955, he studied at the Hochschule der Künste Dresden (University of the Arts) under Wilhelm Lachnit and Heinz Lohmar, among others. He continued his education as a master student at the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) under Heinrich Ehmsen. He worked as an artist in Berlin from 1961 onwards. Böttcher died in Berlin in 2001.